Bulletin of Social Legislation 

on the Henry Bergh Foundation for the 
Promotion of Humane Education 

No. 5 



EDITED BY 



Samuel McCune Lindsay, Ph.D., LL.D. 

ProfcHor of Social Ltgislation in Columbia University 



Swiss Internment of Prisoners of War 

An Experiment in International Humane 

Legislation and Administration 

A Report from the Swiss Commission in the United 
States with preface by William Staempfli, Member 
of the Commission and Chairman of the Committee 
on Employment of Interned Prisoners in Switzerland. 

Introduction by E. Stagg Whitin, Chairman, 
Executive Council, and Samuel McCune Lindsay, 
Chairman, Committee on Humane Ekiucation, Na- 
tional Committee on Prisons and Prison Labor. 



m-^: 




New York 

Columbia University Press 

November, 1917 



Monograph. 



BULLETIN OF SOCIAL LEGISLATION 

ON THE HENRY BERGH FOUNDATION FOR THE 

PROMOTION OF HUMANE EDUCATION a 

EDITED BY 

Samuel McCune Lindsay, Ph.D., LL.D. 

Professor of Social Legislation in Columbia University 

PREVIOUS ISSUES OF THE BULLETIN 

No. I. The Caged Man. By E. Stagg Whitin, Ph.D. A summary and digest 
of the laws of continental United States regulating the treatment of 
prisoners. June, 1913. 8vo, paper, pp. vi+117. Price, I1.50 net. 

No. 2. Legislation for the Protection of Animals and Children. A dis- 
cussion of the administration of the laws for the prevention of cruelty 
to animals, and of recent legislation for the protection of animals and 
children, by Frank B. Williams and C. C. Carstens, together with 
tables of recent legislation, continuing the summaries of Roswell 
C. McCrea's "The Humane Movement* to the end of the year 1913, 
prepared and incorporated by Professor Roswell C. McCrea, May, 
1914. 8vo, paper, pp. 96. Price, $1.00 net. 

No. 3. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in New York State. By F. 
Morse Hubbard. June, 191 5, 8vo, paper, pp. 85. Price, li.oo net. 

No. 4. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in the States of Illinois, 
Colorado, and California. By F. Morse Hubbard. 8vo, paper, 
pp. 112. Price, $1.00 net. 

An examination of the practical results of existing humane legisla- 
tion and its administration in Illinois, Colorado, and California. 

No. 5. Swiss Internment of Prisoners of War. An experiment in inter- 
national humane legislation and administration. A report from the 
Swiss Commission in the United States with preface by William 
Staempfli, Member of the Commission and Chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Employment of Interned Prisoners in Switzerland. Intro- 
duction by E. Stagg Whitin, Chairman Executive Council, and 
Samuel McCune Lindsay, Chairman Committee on Humane Edu- 
cation, National Committee on Prisons and Prison Labor. November, 
191 7, Svo, paper, pp. 54. Price, $1.00 net. 

No. 6. Legislation and Legislative Proposals in 1915-1917 with respect 
to the prevention of cruelty to children and to animals and allied 
humane measures. (In preparation.) 

OTHER PUBLICATIONS OF THE HENRY BERGH FOUNDATION 
The Humane Movement. A descriptive study by Roswell C. McCrea, Ph.D., 
Professor of Economics in Columbia University, and formerly Dean of the 
Wharton School and Professor of Economics in the University of Pennsyl- 
vania. Svo. cloth, pp. vii + 444. Price $2.00 net. 

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS 

LEMCKE & BUECHNER, AGENTS 
30-32 WEST TWENTY-SEVENTH STREET NEW YORK CITY 



Bulletin of Social Legislation 

on the Henry Bergh Foundation for the 
Promotion of Humane Education 

No. 5 



EDITED BY 

Samuel McCune Lindsay, Ph.D., LL.D. 

Professor of Social Legislation in Columbia Uni-versity 

Swiss Internment of Prisoners of War 

An Experiment in International Humane 

Legislation and Administration 

A Report from the Swiss Commission in the United 
States with preface by William Staempfli, Member 
of the Commission and Chairman of the Committee 
on Employment of Interned Prisoners in Switzerland. 

Introduction by E. Stagg Whitin, Chairman, 
Executive Council, and Samuel McCune Lindsay, 
Chairman, Committee on Humane Education, Na- 
tional Committee on Prisons and Prison Labor. 




New York 

Columbia University Press 

November, 191 7 



9. of D- 






UNIVERSITY PRINTING OFFICE 
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Page 

Preface v 

Introduction vii 

I. Historical Introduction i 

II. Selection, Supervision, and Transportation of 

Interned Prisoners 15 

III. Location and Maintenance of Interned Prisoners 20 

IV. Educational Facilities for Interned Prisoners 25 
V. Civil Rights of Interned Prisoners 29 

VI. Treatment in Sanitary Institutions 34 

VII. Recreation and Occupations for Interned Pris- 
oners 37 

VIII. Organization and Administration of Internment 

Service 47 



Acknowledgment is made of the courtesy and assistance of 
Professor Haivey W. Thayer (First Lieutenant, Signal Corps, 
U.S.A.) who kindly took charge of the translation of this docu- 
ment; to Mr. Irwin Wheeler, of the New York Bar; and to 
Professor W. Rappard, of the University of Geneva, member 
of the International Red Cross and of the Swiss Commission 
to the United States, who rendered valuable aid in editing it 
for publication. 



I 



PREFACE 

The internment of sick and wounded prisoners of war in 
neutral countries is an event without precedent in past his- 
tory. It has been tried for the first time in Switzerland in the 
course of recent months. 

Considering that the experience thus gained may prove of 
interest and perhaps of help in the United States, the Swiss 
Commission, at present in this country, has brought with it 
a hitherto unpublished official report on the subject. This 
report, by Hauser, the Surgeon-General of the Swiss Army, 
who has been in charge of the internment in Switzerland of 
Austrian, Belgian, English, French, and German prisoners of 
war, tells the story of this great experience from its origin until 
the end of January, 191 7. 

It is here published in English with some slight abridgment. 
The publication has been undertaken by Columbia Univer- 
sity, at the request of the National Committee on Prisons and 
Prison Labor, which kindly saw to its translation. I express 
my deep appreciation for the interest the authorities of 
Columbia University and the officers of the National Com- 
mittee on Prisons and Prison Labor have taken in this branch 
of our national humanitarian activities and I sincerely hope 
and trust that the publication of this report may fulfill its pur- 
pose of enlightenment and of helpful suggestion. 

William Staempfli 

Lieutenant-Colonel in the Swiss Artillery 
Chairman of the Committee on Employ- 
ment of the Interned Prisoners in 
Switzerland 
Member of the Swiss Commission in the 
United States 

Washington, D. C, October, igi-j 



INTRODUCTION 

The Swiss Commission has brought to the United States a 
document of more than general interest to those who are work- 
ing on humanitarian problems. When Mr. Bergh, asking for 
the protection of the child in a New York Court and being 
refused, the humane laws not applying to children, turned and 
asked that the child be considered an animal so that it might 
obtain the protection of the humane laws, his act marked a 
stage of progress in the evolution of the protection of the indi- 
vidual against barbarism. When out of the brutality of this 
most brutal of wars, with its horrible prison pens, there is 
evolved a system of internment based upon standards of 
universal brotherhood never dreamt of in wars of the past, 
another stage is recorded in the progress of humane endeavor. 

It is peculiarly fitting that the home of the faithful St. 
Bernard, taught by his gentle master to seek out in the snow 
the unfortunate wayfarer and bring him relief, should be the 
home of this new method of succor. A primitive method has 
been adapted to modern times, and the concept has been 
broadened until it may become the typical example of a new 
kind of international custom foreshadowing important changes 
in international law. May not the broad spirit of international 
brotherhood exemplified in this Swiss experiment, be the 
embryo of a spirit of permanent universal peace toward which 
all warring peoples look with hope? 

Internment in Switzerland of sick and wounded prisoners of 
war, as a result of international agreement, is a new product 
of the present war. Immediately after the outbreak of hos- 
tilities Switzerland foresaw that many troops would be thrown 
on her soil, and their internment become inevitable. The car- 
ing for the sick and wounded among such interned troops was 
the first development of the extensive humanitarian work 
Switzerland is now carrying on. 

At the request of the International Committee of the Red 
Cross, Switzerland opened negotiations with France and 



VIU INTRODUCTION 

Germany in October, 1914, with a view to providing for the 
exchange through Switzerland of prisoners of war so seriously 
wounded as to be unfit for military service. The proposition 
met with the approval and encouragement of the Pope and 
developed so rapidly that by November, 191 6, some ten 
thousand French and German prisoners, incapacitated for 
further military service, were returned to their own countries 
through Switzerland. 

Then developed the idea of the particular kind of intern- 
ment that is peculiar to this war, the care of sick and wounded 
prisoners of war not totally incapacitated. A bureau of in- 
ternment was created by the Surgeon-General of Switzerland, 
in January, 191 6, and that same month a test was made with 
one hundred French and one hundred German prisoners suffer- 
ing from tuberculosis. These prisoners were interned for the 
period of the war, their own countries agreeing to return any 
who escape. 

The formal announcement of internment, as this work of 
hospitalization is now known, was made by the Chief-of-Staff 
of the Army of Switzerland on February 24, 191 6. Internment 
was placed under the charge of the Surgeon-General of the 
Army, and regulations were issued for the transportation, dis- 
tribution, and supervision of the prisoners, together with pro- 
visions governing their pay, clothing, recreation, intellectual, 
and religious care. England approved the idea of internment 
in the spring of 1916, and during the following summer two 
international conferences were held at which final details were 
worked out. 

The rapid growth of internment has necessitated an 
elaborate system of administration and accounting. The 
war commissioner of the Army is Chief Superintendent of 
Internment, and appoints the sectional quartermasters who 
give all administrative orders and are responsible for all 
accounts. 

Requests for internment are sent to the Bureau of Informa- 
tion at Berne, and from there forwarded to the itinerant 
commissions of Swiss doctors which visit the camps of war 
prisoners. After designation for internment by the itinerant 



INTRODUCTION IX 

commission, a prisoner must be finally approved by the Com- 
mission of Control, which is composed of two Swiss doctors, 
two doctors from the army which has taken him captive, and 
a representative of the government of that country. Intern- 
ment follows immediately upon approval by the Commission 
of Control. 

All transportation of interned men is under the jurisdiction 
of the head physician of the International Red Cross. The 
convoys to date have occasioned no unpleasant manifesta- 
tions, the interned men being well received at the railway sta- 
tions and the objects of many acts of kindness. 

Each internment region is under the direction of a super- 
vising sanitary officer. He appoints the section heads, as a 
rule, from non-commissioned interned officers, who are placed 
on duty at the quarters of the interned. The increasing pro- 
portions of internment rendered necessary the appointment of 
aids to the Directing Sanitary Officer, and Swiss Commandants 
de Place were placed in charge of the various sections. They 
are responsible to the Directing Sanitary Officer of the region 
and have command over the section heads. The plan of plac- 
ing some responsibility upon officers selected from the interned 
has met with encouraging results and tends to become more 
and more important. 

The interned are quartered in hotels, boarding houses, 
sanitariums, and the like, their quarters in no way resembling 
hospitals. The rooms are bright and attractive, and can, as 
a rule, accommodate two, three, or at most, four occupants. 
Officers and enlisted men are quartered separately. Interned 
civilians are also divided into two categories — those who can 
pay for their own support and those who cannot pay, and are 
treated as soldiers. 

The proprietor of an establishment is paid six francs per 
day for an officer and four francs for a soldier. An increase 
is allowed for tubercular patients, extra food being necessary. 
The food of the interned is strictly prescribed according to a 
special menu, which affords little profit to the proprietor 
despite the widespread rumor that the Swiss are exploiting 
the universal wretchedness for their own profit. 



X INTRODUCTION 

The Swiss University work for student prisoners of war was 
started in September, 191 5, the organization assuming the 
intellectual care of the men interned in Switzerland. Student 
interns are permitted to follow courses in the principal intel- 
lectual centres of Switzerland, but are subject to the same 
rigid military discipline in force in the internment regions. 
Recreation halls have been established in the several regions, 
while the Y. M. C. A., the Catholic Mission of Health, the 
Society of Rote Mogen David, and certain philanthropic 
agencies have done much to meet the spiritual and intellectual 
needs of the men. 

Interned men are considered as prisoners and cannot resort 
to law on civil matters nor engage in ordinary commercial 
pursuits. Marriage is permitted when the State from which 
a prisoner comes declares its willingness to recognize his mar- 
riage. Breaches of discipline among the interned are not 
common and are mainly due to the fact that the prisoners are 
still weak, having little or no moral or physical resistance, and 
fall victims to harmful and unworthy pleasures. 

The frequenting of inns and use of alcohol are very care- 
fully regulated but it is difficult to secure the cooperation of 
the local authorities who are unwilling to take measures to 
keep interned men out of saloons. The monthly reports from 
the regions are almost unanimous in designating alcohol as 
the cause of most breaches of discipline. 

The judicial affairs of the interned men are conducted ac- 
cording to military law. The interned man, against whom a 
judicial inquiry is directed, is placed under simple arrest. The 
judge of the military court of the district conducts the inquiry 
and justice takes its course without any interference on the 
part of the military authorities. Discipline is rapidly improv- 
ing; the Commandants de Place have learned to know their men, 
evil elements have been eliminated, and the Swiss population 
is becoming accustomed to internment. 

Internment was at first restricted to tubercular patients, 
but has been extended till at present eighteen categories of 
sicknesses or wounds warrant internment, only two of which 
involve tuberculosis. 



INTRODUCTION XI 

All interned men are carefully examined by physicians and 
assigned for treatment. Strict rules have been formulated in 
regard to the classes of interned men who must pay for opera- 
tions, medical, and dental attention, etc., and those who can 
obtain such services free. 

Work has been declared obligatory for every interned man 
whose health permits it. The interned are divided into six 
classes, according to their physical capability for work, the 
classification being entrusted to practising physicians who 
must act with prudence. The prisoner works for his own wel- 
fare and re-education, not for the benefit of the Swiss, but care 
is taken to avoid unfair competition with Swiss industry. He 
receives a wage commensurate with his labor, some govern- 
ments requiring a portion of the wage to be turned over to 
them to be used toward the cost of maintaining their prisoners. 

The postal service for internment is attached to the postal 
service of Switzerland. Military postcards have been placed 
at the disposal of the interned men, and up to the present 
480,000 have been distributed. At first the franking privilege 
was generally accorded, but the excessive use of mail privileges 
necessitated restriction of franking to ten letters or small 
packages per man per month. 

Switzerland is doing a noble work. How the United States 
can cooperate or learn valuable lessons from this humane 
experiment we must leave to those wise in diplomacy and in 
governmental administration, to determine. We bespeak, 
however, for this interesting report, the sympathetic considera- 
tion of the American public which is always generous in hu- 
mane impulses, and hope that it may stimulate a continued 
interest in, and careful study of, the progress of the internment 
of prisoners of war in Switzerland. 

National Committee on Prisons and Prison Labor 

E. Stagg Whitin 

Chairman, Executive Council 

Samuel McCune Lindsay 

Chairman, Committee on Humane 
Education 



CHAPTER I 

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION 

The internment in Switzerland, by international agreement, 
of sick or wounded prisoners of war of the belligerent countries 
is an outgrowth of the present European war. The purpose of 
this report is to trace the development of internment by agree- 
ment and to outline the extensive system which has been 
adopted to carry out its objects. 

The custom of interning belligerents, who entered neutral 
countries, was familiar before the war. As early as 1871 a 
French army was interned in Switzerland. This internment, 
however, was accidental, of short duration, and one imposed 
upon us by our neutrality. Internment, by agreement, of pris- 
oners of war removed for the purpose from belligerent coun- 
tries, is an entirely recent practice which originated in Switzer- 
land since the present European war began. 

International agreement forms the foundation of this form 
of internment. In the collapse of international law resulting 
from the war, internment has arisen as a manifestation that the 
principles of international agreement are still respected and 
that international law is not a dead letter. 

INTERNATIONAL HOSPITALIZATION 

The idea of international internment, or international hos- 
pitalization, was first broached ten months before the war, 
when M. Louis de Tscharner, in two unsigned articles appear- 
ing in the Berner Tagehlatt of September 23 and October 31, 
1913, urgently advocated the drafting of an agreement be- 
tween Switzerland and the neighboring States wherein the 
latter would pledge themselves to respect our neutrality and 
allow the passage of necessary provisions; Switzerland, in re- 
turn, to transport the wounded of these states across Switzer- 
land by her own trains, an equal number of wounded for each 
State, to care for them, and upon their recovery to return them 
to their native State. This new and interesting idea was the 



2 SWISS INTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 

subject of numerous articles and aroused much discussion. 
Although quite different from the present system of intern- 
ment, this project of hospitalization marks its beginning. 

THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR 

In August, 1914, with the outbreak of the European conflict, 
Switzerland began to foresee that many troops would be 
thrown on her soil, and that their internment would, therefore, 
become inevitable. The realization quickly followed that in 
addition to maintaining her military role, Switzerland, by caring 
for these men, could carry on an extensive humanitarian work. 

As early as October, 19 14, the Federal Council, at the re- 
quest of the International Committee of the Red Cross, opened 
negotiations with the German and French governments with 
the view of providing for the exchange, through Switzerland 
as an intermediary, of those prisoners of war so seriously 
wounded as to be no longer fit for any military service. This 
proposal met with favor, but in completing the details of the 
exchange several obstacles were encountered. 

Added impulse to this humanitarian work was given by the 
Holy See, by similar proposals forwarded by it to the various 
countries early in 1915. By February, 1915, France and Ger- 
many had drawn up terms for the exchange of seriously 
wounded prisoners of war, and by the end of the month these 
two nations had come to an agreement which permitted the 
first transportation through Switzerland on March 2, 1915, of 
prisoners of war falling within the restrictions which had been 
fixed. The material organization of the transportation system 
was entrusted to the Red Cross and from March, 1915, to 
November, 1916, 2,343 German and 8,668 French troops, all 
of them incapacitated for any further military service during 
the war, crossed Switzerland to their respective native 
countries. 

THE SICK AND LESS SERIOUSLY WOUNDED 
PRISONERS OF WAR 

Even before the actual transportation of these troops had 
begun, however, the new idea of providing for the wounded 
prisoners who did not come within the class of those totally 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION 3 

incapacitated had sprung up. It was proposed that such pris- 
oners be interned in Switzerland and there afforded medical 
attention and an opportunity to recuperate. This combina- 
tion of internment and hospitalization is now known abroad 
as internment. 

Plans for the care of sick and wounded prisoners of war 
rapidly gained support. On January 28, 1915, Mr. Gustave 
Ador, President of the International Committee of the Red 
Cross, in an interview at Paris with Mr. Millerand, then Min- 
ister of War, discussed such a plan. On Mr. Ador's return on 
February 4, 1915, he wrote to Mr. Hoffman, Chief of the Po- 
litical Department, as follows: 

In speaking last week with Mr. Millerand, Minister of War, in 
regard to the exchange of wounded French prisoners, I was aware that 
one of the chief obstacles to surmount is the fear of returning to Ger- 
many wounded men, for example, with one arm amputated, who could 
still be of service to the German Army in the Bureau of the Chief of 
Staff, in depots, or elsewhere, thus taking the place of officers or of 
able-bodied soldiers who could return to the front. I then suggested 
the idea, which has been very favorably received, of interning this class 
of wounded in Switzerland, placing them on their honor to remain in 
Switzerland for the duration of the war. This measure would, of 
course, apply equally to German soldiers. 

I do not think that we will have to receive a very great number of 
wounded men in Switzerland, for all those who are incapable of render- 
ing useful service would be sent back to their own country. Before 
pursuing further the study of this question, and before presenting my 
proposition to the belligerents, I should like to be assured that this 
idea meets with your approval. I think it will be very easy to find 
places where these poor wounded could be received at a very moderate 
rate; they would be at libertj', in a neutral country, surrounded and 
cared for by those members of their family who might wish to see them. 

The fear expressed by France that under the system of 
exchange wounded soldiers would be returned to Germany 
who could still be of military service, was common to the other 
belligerents. Internment offered a solution of this difficulty. 

PRELIMINARY NEGOTIATIONS 

France was the first belligerent to approach Germany in 
regard to such a plan. On February 18, 191 5, France sent to 



4 SWISS INTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 

Germany a proposal concerning internment in the form of a 
report addressed to Berlin through the intermediation of Spain. 
Germany on May 12, 1915, rejected the proposal. 

In spite of Germany's refusal to consider the project, the idea 
gradually gained general support and when the Federal Coun- 
cil had completed regulations for the exchange of the seriously 
wounded, it turned its attention to the idea of internment. 
On March 3, 191 5, the Ambassador of France, in a letter to 
the President of the Confederation, expressed himself as 
"favorable to reciprocity, to the liberating of the less seriously 
wounded, and to the commitment of them to the Federal Gov- 
ernment, providing it would consent to take them under its 
surveillance." 

The International Committee of the Red Cross also began 
a study of the project and submitted a plan for the internment 
of those wounded officers whom the authorities did not wish to 
return to their native country. This plan of restricted intern- 
ment was placed before the Federal Council, which was re- 
quested to submit it to the government concerned. The Po- 
litical Department replied that it "had already, for some time, 
discussed the internment in Switzerland of the less seriously 
wounded commissioned and non-commissioned officers who 
were held as prisoners of war in Germany and France, but who 
could not be returned to their countries before the end of 
hostilities," and thanked Mr. Ador for his "happy initiative." 

The Political Department, in discussing the project on April 
2, with the Ambassador of France, laid emphasis on the tuber- 
cular patients, but this classification was quickly enlarged to 
include officers and under-officers less seriously wounded or 
suffering from other diseases. However, there was still great 
hesitation in extending the classification and much uncer- 
tainty as to the proper limitations. All through April the 
Political Department continued parleying with the French 
Ambassador and the German Minister. 

On May i, 19 16, the Pope entered the negotiations by send- 
ing to Switzerland an envoy. Count Charles Santucci, who 
submitted to the Federal Council a project which agreed in 
part with our proposals, but which was far more extensive in 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION 5 

scope, recommending for internment not only tubercular 
patients but a broader classification of sick and wounded, 
which included soldiers as well as officers. This project estab- 
lished certain useful principles which helped to give intern- 
ment its final form, except that it provided for interning equal, 
or nearly equal, numbers of prisoners of war from each country. 
The Federal Council, on May 7, declared itself ready to carry 
out gladly the enlarged program of the Holy See, if the govern- 
ments interested would give it their support. 

INITIAL DIFFICULTIES 

Long and delicate negotiations then began. No precedents 
could be found. The difficulties encountered were many. 

At the very outset the difficulty arose of determining how 
the interned prisoners could be guarded. The Federal Council 
could not pledge itself to guard the interned men, as this would 
necessitate the demobilization of a part of their troops. What 
guaranty would the country which had captured the prisoner 
have that once in Switzerland he would not at the first oppor- 
tunity escape to his own country? This perplexing problem 
was finally settled by the belligerent countries promising to 
return to Switzerland all those who had escaped from intern- 
ment. 

A second question arose as to the number of prisoners to be 
interned. Should an equal number of prisoners be interned for 
each power? Should a proportion be established? If so, on 
what basis? 

The Federal Council found the solution of this second dif- 
ficulty in the enlargement of the classifications of soldiers and 
officers for exchange, and the formation of new categories for 
internment. France was favorable to the reclassification, but 
Germany upheld the principle of number for number as pro- 
vided in the Pope's first project, and to which the Cardinal 
Secretary of State, Gasparri, had assented in his letter of 
May 14, to Cardinal Amotte, Archbishop of Paris. 

Although still clinging to the principle of number for num- 
ber, the German Emperor, in August, 1915, personally pledged 
himself to the Pope to accept the principle of internment. 



6 SWISS INTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 

This pledge appeared in an official despatch from Berlin, on 
August 2, 19 1 5, which declared that to arrange a plan which 
was favorable to the Pope, the Emperor of Germany had ac- 
cepted the principle of internment and that "the conditions 
would be settled later." It was not until October, however, 
that the German government officially declared itself in accord 
with internment. Even then it would not yet accept the clas- 
sifications, maintaining the principle of number for number. 

Negotiations were continued with great zeal. Mgr. Mar- 
chetti, the representative of the Holy See at Berne, to inspire 
the confidence of the German Empire and to induce Germany 
to adopt the system of classification, then broached the idea of 
establishing neutral commissions which should designate those 
to be interned. 

The next development was in the form of a project sub- 
mitted to the Political Department by the Surgeon-General, 
on November 21, 191 5. He abandoned the principle of classi- 
fications, but his proposals dealt entirely with the internment 
of patients who were suffering from tuberculosis of the respir- 
atory organs and who could hope for a complete cure or a 
notable improvement. Germany and France were to pay for 
the lodging, food, and the medical treatment of their subjects 
and to pledge themselves to return escaped prisoners. Con- 
trolling Commissioners were to be provided at Lyons and 
Constance, and the internment was to be done under the direc- 
tion of the Surgeon-General and the Sanitary Corps. A mili- 
tary doctor was to have charge of the regions where the in- 
terned prisoners were to be kept, and certain regions were 
proposed. 

Finally, in December, Switzerland, France, and Germany 
agreed on the principle of classifications and neutral doctors. 
Toward the end of the same month, Mr. Hoffman brought up 
the question of the internment of civilians and made a prop- 
osition which was approved by Germany and France. 

On January 4, 1916, the Surgeon-General wrote to the Po- 
litical Department on the subject of the possibility of receiving 
at Davos, Montana, and Leysin more than a thousand in- 
terned men, and on January 15, 1916, Federal Councilor HofT- 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION 7 

man was able to announce to the Federal Council that the 
negotiations on the subject of the "slightly wounded" had ar- 
rived at a practical conclusion. Indeed, the Political Depart- 
ment proposed as an experiment that 1,000 German and 1,000 
French prisoners of war be quartered in Switzerland, all to be 
tubercular patients, providing such could be found ; otherwise 
prisoners suffering from other diseases. 

THE FIRST EXPERIMENT 

This proposal, modified as to numbers only, was accepted by 
the belligerent powers, and on January 26, 19 16, the test was 
made with 100 French and 100 German prisoners suffering 
from tuberculosis. 

It was, to be sure, on a small scale, but it was at once appar- 
ent that if the plan worked successfully, it would be necessary 
for Switzerland to face without delay the new obligations, 
which would devolve upon her under such a system, and to 
organize a complete bureau of internment. 

BUREAU OF INTERNMENT 

Steps in this direction had already been taken. In the order 
of January 12, 19 16, the Surgeon-General announced the cre- 
ation in the Sanitary Corps of the Chief of Staff of the Army of 
a special bureau for the control of interned men. This order 
also provided that regions for medical treatment should be 
included in those under command of the sanitary ofificers. 

A supplemental order was issued on January 25 which set 
forth the organization of internment. According to this order, 
the Surgeon-General and the Sanitary Corps of the Army were 
given charge of internment, the Surgeon-General being directly 
responsible to the Political Department. The central control 
was organized in the Sanitary Corps of the Army. The direc- 
tion of the sanitary officers was placed under the Surgeon- 
General. 

THE SECOND EXPERIMENT 

Another internment experiment was made under an order 
of February 8, 1916, when interned prisoners requiring surgical 
care were included with tubercular patients. By February 14, 
there were already 883 French interns, of whom 104 were of- 



8 SWISS INTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 

ficers, in the region of Montana, Montreux, Leysin, and Ober- 
land Bernois, and 364 German prisoners, of whom seven were 
officers, in the region of Lac des Quatre Cantons and of Davos. 

Doctors from the camps of the belHgerent nations were in- 
cluded in the first detachment of war prisoners, and as a result 
of their suggestions a revision was made at Lyons and Con- 
stance by a supervisory commission composed of Swiss doc- 
tors, and doctors from the States that had taken prisoners. 
This was only an experiment. The general principles were 
agreed upon but there were still two points of great importance 
to settle : 

First. The list of diseases and wounds, giving the right to 
internment. The first list of January, 19 16, with twelve 
categories was increased, on February 17, to twenty categories. 
In June and July, 1916, at the International Conference at 
Berne, the list was reduced to eighteen. This was published 
in September, and presented to the itinerant commissions then 
preparing to leave. Of these eighteen or twenty categories 
only two pertained to tubercular patients. This shows how 
the original project had been extended. 

The following are included in these categories : 

A. All the serious nervous or mental affections requiring treatment in 

special establishments; these cases to be sent back to their own 
country. 

B. Chronic alcoholism. 

C. All contagious diseases during the period of infection. 

Second. The organization of itinerant commissions com- 
posed of Swiss doctors to go to France and Germany to pick 
out those eligible for internment. It had already been found 
to be inadvisable to leave this choice to the commissioners of 
the camps, as was planned in the first experiment. 

The instructions given to the Swiss Sanitary Commissions 
for choosing men from the German and French prison camps, 
together with the list of diseases and wounds warranting in- 
ternment, were sent, on February 17, to the Federal Council 
and were approved by it. The instructions and lists were also 
approved by the Ambassador of France and the German Le- 
gation. On February 21, the Political Department announced 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION 9 

the forthcoming departure of the Commissions for France and 
Germany, and, on February 24, an order was sent to the itin- 
erant commissions. 

AN OUTLINE OF INTERNMENT 

On February 24 the general outHne of the organization of 
internment was made the subject of the following communi- 
cation from the Chief of Staff: 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE ARMY 

RELATIVE TO THE SICK AND WOUNDED PRISONERS 

OF WAR INTERNED IN SWITZERLAND 

Berne, Headquarters, February 24, 1916 

Our country, which, thank God, has been spared the evils of war, has 
before it a new and noble task; that of caring for the sick and wounded 
prisoners of war whom the neighboring States entrust to our care. Soldiers, 
who in battle have faced each other as enemies, hope to recover strength, 
courage, and health on the soil of our peaceable country. 

Internment will be carried out under the charge of the Surgeon-General 
and the Sanitary Corps of the Army; the Surgeon-General is directly re- 
sponsible to the Political Department. A central control will be organized 
in the Sanitary Corps of the Army. 

The Surgeon-General will designate a certain number of regions. At the 
head of each of these he will place a directing sanitary officer responsible to 
him for all matters concerning internment in his region. The officers will 
supervise all the interned prisoners of their region. The French prisoners 
of war have been assigned to four regions, as follows: 

1. Montana. 

2. Montreux and surroundings. 

3. Leysin. 

4. Bernese Oberland (Interlaken, 

Wilderswil, Meiringen, Brienz). 
The German prisoners of war are assigned to two regions as follows: 

1 . Lac des Quatre Cantons (Weggis, 

Gersau, Brunnen). 

2. Davos. 

The transportation of prisoners of war is accomplished under the direction 
of the Chief Surgeon of the Red Cross, Colonel Dr. Bohny. The hospital- 
ization, care, and medical treatment in hotels, boarding-houses, and sani- 
tariums are left to the directing sanitary officers; the expenses fall on the 
belligerent States. The interned receive pay from their native country, as 
well as clothing allowances, including cloaks, underclothing, and shoes. 
The tubercular patients also receive woolen blankets. 



lO SWISS INTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 

Correspondence between the interned and their relatives is permitted; 
the relatives of the interned are also permitted to reside in the neighborhood 
of the respective regions; nevertheless, for the time being, except in excep- 
tional cases, the relatives are not permitted to help in the care of those 
interned prisoners seriously ill, or even to observe the care given them. 
The interned prisoners enjoy the privilege of free postage service as well 
in Switzerland as in foreign countries. On arrival at his destination, the 
interned prisoner receives a postcard, which he sends immediately to his 
nearest relatives to inform them of his condition and to give them his 
address. 

In view of the physical, as well as the intellectual, well-being of interned 
prisoners, the Surgeon-General, acting with the Bureau Central pour le 
Bien du Soldat, has adopted the following: the Swiss Society, LeBien du 
Soldat (directed by Mile. E. Spiller), is to have charge of, and is to manage 
wherever it seems advisable, places where soldiers can be served with non- 
alcoholic beverages. 

The kind offer of the Swiss Y. M. C. A. to assist in helping the interned 
has been accepted with gratitude. The Commission romane des U. C. 
J. G. pour les prisonniers malades (M. F. Barth, president) has declared 
itself ready to furnish writing materials, reading matter, and other things 
of intellectual interest to the interned French. The Deutsch-Schweitzerische 
Kommission der C. V. J. M. fiir Kranke Kriegsgefangene has offered to do 
the same for the German interned. 

The religious care of Protestants and Catholics has been given over to 
the Societe Suisse des aumoniers (capitaine-aumonier, H. Savoy) and that 
of the Hebrews to the Society of Mogen David Rouge (Dr. M. Erlanger). 

The League Pro Captivis at Berne (Dr. R. De Tavel, president) has 
charge of repairing and cleaning the clothes of the interns. This neutral 
relief committee has expressed a willingness, if we so desire, to extend its 
activity in preparing and accomplishing other tasks. The relief committees 
at Berne, officially recognized by the neighboring States, together with us, 
have undertaken to provide for the needs of the interned and to procure 
for them intellectual or manual work. The Germans will be taken care of 
by the Kriegsgefangenenfiirsorge, with which there is connected a central 
library. The French interned depend upon the Bureau de Secours aux 
Prisonniers de Guerre at Berne. 

All the fellow citizens of the interned, living either in Switzerland or 
foreign countries, are requested to address all requests and offers of service 
to the Relief Committee in their own countries. The Swiss people, desirous 
of helping the interned, are asked to address the Bureau Central pour le 
Bien du Soldat or the directing sanitary officer of the respective regions. 
The hotels, boarding-houses, and sanitariums which wish to offer their 
services have to report to Sanitary-Captain Dr. Schwyzer. Only by ad- 
hering to these directions can one hope to eliminate waste and destruction 
of the means and forces at our disposal. 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION II 

We recommend that all efforts tending to relieve the lot of belligerent 
soldiers, who have come to us seeking recuperation, shall come from the 
Swiss people as a whole, and we hope that it will find, in accomplishing this 
common work, a new occasion for strengthening the bonds that unite us. 

(Signed) Surgeon-General Colonel Hauser 
(Signed) Captain WiRZ 

Of the Bureau Central pour le Bien du Soldat 

A lengthy order from the Surgeon-General, on February 25, 
1916, sets forth the details for surgical and dental treatment, 
administration, pay, and means of service. It took up the 
work which could be given to the interned and requested a 
report on this subject from the directing sanitary officers. At 
the same time, he issued a warning against the scattering of 
efforts and gifts, and designated a certain number of societies 
to provide for the physical, as well as the intellectual and moral, 
welfare of the interned men. The itinerant commissions left 
for France and Germany in March, 19 16. The instructions of 
the Surgeon-General, on April 21, provided for fifteen regions 
of internment, with lodging provided for 12,000 interned; 
then, in proportion to the need, new regions were created and 
others divided into two parts, so that in December the number 
of regions amounted to twenty. 

England, during the period of this early development of the 
internment system, had remained aloof, but finally, in the 
spring of 19 16, gave her sanction to the idea. 

Following the experimental internment of prisoners in Feb- 
ruary, 1 9 16, three large groups of war prisoners arrived in 
Switzerland in May, August, and September, 1916; in De- 
cember, 1916; and January, 1917. 

The system of internment of prisoners had now met with 
the general approval of the belligerents, and finally two inter- 
national conferences were held at Berne, presided over by the 
Surgeon-General, the first on June 15 and 16, 1916, between 
the Swiss officers and the representatives of Germany, the 
second on July 10 and 11, 1916, between the Swiss officers and 
the representatives of France, England, and Belgium. After an 
exposition by the Surgeon-General of the development of in- 
ternment, several points of detail were discussed, among 



12 SWISS INTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 

others, the activity of the itinerant commissions and the con- 
trolling commission, the list of categories of sicknesses and in- 
juries warranting internment, repatriation, etc. 

In the course of these conferences, the principle of propor- 
tionality between the interned of different belligerent nations 
was definitely abandoned. The institution of internment was 
from this time on firmly established, although not in an un- 
changeable form. If the principle is just it ought to be fruitful ; 
the longer the war lasts and the more extensive it becomes, the 
more internment ought to extend its organization. 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

On September 24, 19 16, the Surgeon-General explained to 
the Political Department how, in his opinion, the solution of 
the present problem, which each day demands more extensive 
measures for the hospitalization of sick and wounded prisoners 
of war, was to be found in international agreement. 

According to him, hospitalization should be applied to: 

1 . Germans, English, Belgians, French ; these are already cared for in 

Switzerland. 

2. French civilians imprisoned in Austria, and Austrian civilians im- 

prisoned in France. 

3. Fathers in good health. This class at first did not seem worthy 

of the same attention as the others, but it is necessary to 
consider that these fathers of families, generally of middle age, 
are chosen from among those who come from the occupied French 
regions, and if they can come to Switzerland, then at the end of 
the war they will return to their homes strong and healthy, and 
they will be a vigorous element in that population of feeble women 
and children who have become sick because of lack of nourish- 
ment. The internment of the fathers of families is of the greatest 
importance to the future generation of a large part of France. 

4. Young prisoners of war, who, by internment, escape the physical 

and moral dangers of captivity; it is needless to insist on the im- 
portance of this category. 

5. Hospitalization of Austrians and of Italians does not seem urgent. 

6. Hospitalization of Austrians, made prisoners in Serbia, and now in 

France, is required from the medical point of view; on the other 
hand, as regards Serbia, for the time being no longer existing, an 
internment of Serbians who are prisoners in Austria would be 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION I3 

difficult, but agreement might be made with Austria to restore 
to their families Serbians falling within the categories of intern- 
ment. 

7. Germans and Austrians who are prisoners in Russia, and Russians 

who are prisoners in Germany and in Austria; the hospitalization 
of this group would be especially urgent. 

8. Subjects of other belligerent States. 

The task of hospitalization, continues the Surgeon-General, 
is an immense one and of imperative necessity. 

It is difficult to estimate the number requiring hospitaliza- 
tion ; nevertheless, one might estimate it to be at least two or 
three per cent, of the prisoners of war. It is evident that the 
number of men for hospitalization depends very largely on the 
categories of sick and wounded, which require internment. 
According to the present categories one might estimate that 
these men will represent three per cent, of the total number 
of prisoners of war; one might reduce this proportion to two 
per cent, if these categories included only those cases of sick 
and wounded which require treatment that cannot be given 
in prison camps. 

By enlarging the categories of repatriation, the idea of hos- 
pitalization is extended without disadvantage to the bellige- 
rents. Evidently, in the matter of repatriation, it is necessary 
to be more severe with officers and non-commissioned officers 
than with soldiers. 

Hospitalization ought to be extended as far as possible, the 
more so as it concerns not only care of the sick and wounded, 
but also occupation and work for those who have recovered 
their health. This complicated question would be very simple 
if those cured could be sent back to their own countries or 
into captivity, but neither of these solutions is possible. 

Any country that wishes to carry out hospitalization ought 
first to take an exact census of its resources from the view- 
point of lodging and feeding the interned, and the work to be 
given them. 

Switzerland is well adapted for hospitalization, having a 
great number of hotels and sanitariums. On the other hand, 
the smallness of the country is an incoYivenience and the food 



14 SWISS INTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 

resources are restricted, although they have sufficed up to the 
present time. The relatively large number of doctors and hos- 
pitals facilitates the task. 

The providing of occupation will encounter no insurmount- 
able obstacles if a large number of interns are set to work in 
agricultural pursuits and forest exploitation. 

Given the present political situation, we can very certainly 
maintain in Switzerland for a long duration of time, providing 
our military and economic conditions will permit, 30,000 men 
in our hotels, sanitariums, and hospitals, and 5,000 to 10,000 
in the camps with barracks and workshops. 

It goes without saying, that Switzerland, reduced to her own 
resources, is not a state to exercise hospitalization on so 
vast a plan. That which has been done, that which can 
yet be done by her, is only a part of that which ought to be 
done by the rest of the world. She has rendered the service of 
putting an idea into execution ; she has proceeded with experi- 
ments, and the numerous experiments that she has performed 
in the direction of hospitalization will be instructive and val- 
uable. 

The work of hospitalization can be carried out completely 
and extensively only if it is placed on an international basis. 
Even the neutral states of Europe cannot carry on this task. 
The collaboration of America is indispensable. 

The work of hospitalization, the Surgeon-General points out, 
deserves the attention of the Federal Council, as the first step 
towards bringing together the neutral states,[then^the*neutral 
states and the belligerents, and perhaps even the* belligerent 
states themselves. 

Thus, perhaps, this work of so great practical importance for 
the belligerents and, indirectly, for the neutrals, will open the 
eyes of many to the frightful consequences which a world- 
war will inflict on the future of nations. 



CHAPTER II 

SELECTION, SUPERVISION, AND TRANSPORTATION 
OF INTERNED PRISONERS 

It is necessary to distinguish between Itinerant Commis- 
sions and Commissions of Control. The duty of the Itinerant 
Commission is to visit prisoners' camps, not to inspect, but 
to designate candidates for internment. It also designates the 
men who, because of serious illnesses or wounds, are eligible 
for repatriation. The latter are relatively few, however, for 
the majority have already been repatriated. There is no 
need, therefore, of speaking of internment in connection with 
them. 

English, French, and Belgian prisoners designated for in- 
ternment by the Itinerant Commissions in Germany are 
brought to Constance. German prisoners to be interned are 
brought to Lyons. In these two cities they are examined 
again by a Commission of Control. 

The prisoners approved for internment by this last com- 
mission are definitely interned. They are then divided by 
the Officer of Distribution, a Swiss, into the following groups: 

1. The region in which they are to be interned. This depends often 

upon the category of illnesses or wounds in which they were 
entered. 

2. The number of beds available in that region, 

3. Capacity of the train. 

These groups are then sent to the railroad station to entrain. 

The Officer of Distribution is responsible for the regulations 
concerning the control of interned men, and the assignment 
of the interned men in the; regions selected. He is also re- 
sponsible for the baggage of these men. 

ITINERANT COMMISSIONS 

There were no Itinerant Commissions in France or in Ger- 
many for the first assignment of interned men brought to 



l6 SWISS INTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 

Switzerland on January 26, and February 8 to 14, 1916. The 
camp physicians chose the prisoners, the greater part being 
tuberculous, and sent them to Lyons or to Constance. 

The first instructions for Itinerant Commissions were issued 
on February 16 and 17, 191 6, giving the categories of ill- 
nesses and infirmities justifying internment. Five commis- 
sions were designated for France and five for Germany, with 
two Swiss sanitary officers on each. They were to commence 
their work on March ist at Lyons, Paris, and Berlin. A third 
member, French or German, was added to each commission 
as president. 

No commission was appointed for England as her consent to 
the principle of internment had not then been given. By 
June, England had adopted the plan, and then four com- 
missions left for Germany to examine English prisoners and 
five commissions for England to examine German prisoners. 
The formation of these commissions was similar to the others, 
and an English officer was chosen as president. 

In each camp the arrival of the Commission was posted five 
days in advance. Examinations were carried on in the pres- 
ence of the physician in charge of the camp. All the prisoners 
presented themselves, and those having indications of ill- 
nesses such as to warrant internment, or who even believed 
they had them, were held for examination. No prisoner could 
be punished for having presented himself even if the result of 
the examination did not substantiate his claim. 

All the men designated by the Commissions for internment 
were brought together at Lyons and at Constance where the 
Commission of Control had the last word to say, and where 
the Officer of Distribution designated to each one his place 
of internment. 

New instructions were given to these Commissions on 
October 7, 1916, similar in substance to those of February, 
but more detailed. Under these instructions, commissions 
were to establish lists of interned civilians proposed for re- 
patriation and for internment, and also lists of military pris- 
oners — officers first, then non-commissioned officers, and final- 
ly soldiers. 



SELECTION, SUPERVISION, AND TRANSPORTATION I7 

Candidates for internment because of sickness were to 
present themselves giving a history of their disease. In France 
each sick soldier had a certificate of illness carefully filled 
out by the hospital in the important camps. In less important 
camps, such as the agricultural or industrial camps, histories 
of the sick men were insufficient or lacking, and for the 
civilians they were entirely lacking. The same state of affairs 
existed in Germany, although Germany, apparently, had more 
facilities for examinations and analyses than France. 

BUREAU OF INFORMATION 

In the first instructions for the Itinerant Commissions, the 
Army Surgeon was given the prerogative of recommending 
prisoners for internment. These lists he sent to the Com- 
missions. Soon, however, his office and those of the Com- 
missions were swamped with requests and letters of recom- 
mendation for internment, often five to ten to a single pris- 
oner. Many of these indefinite letters necessitated long and 
often fruitless researches. This led in June, 1916, to the 
creation of a Bureau of Information, at 39 Rue du Marche, 
Berne. All requests for internment had to be sent to this 
bureau and lists were then forwarded to the commissions before 
the departure of the prisoners. 

COMMISSIONS OF CONTROL 

The Commissions of Control are composed of two Swiss 
Army doctors, two doctors from the army of the country 
which has taken the captives, and a representative of the 
ministry of that country. The latter has no right to vote. 

The Itinerant Commissions having already examined the 
men presented to the Commissions of Control, the latter have 
only to decide doubtful applications for internment or those 
rejected by a majority vote of the army doctors. 

The men rejected, provided there is any doubt as to their 
health, are not sent back to the station for ordinary pris- 
oners but to a station especially provided for doubtful cases 
(camps d'inaptes) where they are observed with a view to 
subsequent internment or repatriation. The Commission of 



l8 SWISS INTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 

Control also requires all men designated by a previous com- 
mission for internment or repatriation, who have not presented 
themselves, to justify their absence. 

TRANSPORTATION 

In accordance with the instructions of the Surgeon-General 
all transportation of interned men is within the jurisdiction 
of the head physician of the Red Cross who has charge of 
arrangements with the confederated railways and other means 
of transportation, the cleaning and the disinfecting of trans- 
port material, and the care of the men during the trip, etc. 
For a normal transport, the detachment which accompanies 
trains of interned men is composed of an officer, a non-com- 
missioned officer and seven men, all of whom are placed at 
the disposal of the Red Cross. 

Before the departure of the convoy of interned men the 
officer in charge of the train receives from the officer of assign- 
ment lists in triplicate of the men. On leaving Geneva or 
Steckborn, places of entry into Switzerland, a secretary from 
the Bureau of Information and secretaries from the embassy 
or the legations concerned, accompany the train and verify 
the transport lists. The officer of assignment at Lyons or 
Constance divides the interned men in the railway carriages 
in such a way that the splitting up of the train is easy. 

The convoys leaving Constance, as a rule, go as far as 
Lucerne, Berne, or Lausanne without being divided, and 
those leaving Lyons, as far as Lucerne or even Zurich and 
Coire. These cities are the exchange stations or rather the 
stations for separating trains into sections. Until these ex- 
change stations are reached the commanding officers of the 
train, the sanitary detachment and the whole convoy are 
under the orders of the head physician of the Red Cross. 
From the exchange station to the terminal stations the con- 
voy is under the orders of the directing sanitary officers. 

The physician-in-charge from the Red Cross has taken the 
following measures for the transportation of interned men: 
the military trains transporting interned Frenchmen leave 
Constance at 7:30 in the evening and arrive at Berne at 12:45, 



SELECTION, SUPERVISION, AND TRANSPORTATION I9 

where during a long stop the prisoners are clothed and fed; 
a representative of the French Embassy furnishes them with 
a complete uniform (undervi-ear included) and a bag for pack- 
ing away their old clothes. Usually the men interned con- 
tinue their journey on the first regular train in the morning. 

The military trains transporting interned German soldiers 
leave Lyons-Bretteaux about 3:25 in the afternoon. They 
arrive at Geneva at 7:30. Both the interned men and the 
men of the convoy partake of a meal offered by the Red Cross 
of Geneva. These trains leave for Zurich at 8:40. At Olten 
the interned men going to Central Switzerland are taken from 
the train and reach Lucerne by the first regular train in the 
morning. At Zurich there is a long stop for dressing and 
luncheon; then the convoy is separated, and again placed in 
charge of the directing sanitary officers. 

There have been up to the present, four series of arrivals 
of interned English, Belgian, and French prisoners, that is, 
fifty-six convoys; and four series of arrivals of interned Ger- 
man prisoners, with latterly some Austrians, making twenty- 
eight convoys. 

With rare exceptions, the convoys have not occasioned any 
unpleasant manifestations and the interned men are well 
received at all the railway stations. As is natural, they are 
the objects of many kindly attentions. 



CHAPTER III 

LOCATION AND MAINTENANCE OF INTERNED 
PRISONERS 

As early as November, 191 5, the Surgeon-General of the 
Army had designated localities for internment, selecting 
Davos- Wiesen for the interned Germans, and Leysin-Montana 
for interned Frenchmen. He estimated that he could ac- 
commodate 2,000 interns in these districts. By February, 
1916, however, it became apparent that more districts must 
be added, and Montreux and the Bernese Oberland had been 
selected for the Allies, and the Lake of the Four Cantons for 
the Germans. In June, the penal colony of Witzwil, and in 
August, the district of Kalchrain were opened for interned 
men. Other numerous modifications had to be made in the 
localities as the number of interned continued to increase 
rapidly. 

OFFICERS IN CHARGE 

A supervising sanitary officer was placed at the head of 
each internment region with the right to name a head for each 
section. These section heads have been selected from among 
the non-commissioned interned officers and they are placed 
on duty at the hotels, boarding houses, sanitariums, etc., 
where the interned then are quartered. The heads of the 
establishments designate a floor head for each floor, and for 
each room, a chief of quarters. 

With the constantly increasing proportions of internment, 
it became necessary to appoint aids to the directing sanitary 
officer. To meet this situation, Swiss ofiicers of sanitation and 
others were appointed as Commandants de Place and placed 
in charge of the various sections. This officer is responsible 
to the directing sanitary officer and has under his command 
the heads of internment quarters, selected from interned 
non-commissioned officers. The discipline of the men, the 
appearance of the establishments, the visits to the men, etc., 



LOCATION AND MAINTENANCE 21 

are all under the supervision of these Commandants de Place. 
They are supposed to act within the limits of their juris- 
diction, in as independent a manner as possible, and ought to 
have initiative, because upon them rests entirely the good 
management of the sections. The installation of these ofificers 
has had a beneficial effect on the discipline of the interns. 

Non-commissioned ofificers among the interned can make 
their good qualities felt in exercising over their compatriots 
an influence and authority which the Swiss would often have 
difficulty in assuming. In general, the directing sanitary offi- 
cers have made efforts to confer some authority on the in- 
terned non-commissioned officers, and the results have been 
most encouraging. The function of interned officers, acting 
as superintendents, tends to become more important, but 
many delicate questions arise and there is much need for tact. 
The example at Miirren, where the English officers at first too 
often forgot that they were prisoners, and took the part of 
their men against the Swiss officers, shows that it was neces- 
sary to be discreet at the beginning and not grant a power to 
the officers which, in practice, could not have been main- 
tained without difficulty and even danger. 

For each section, the directing sanitary officer, designates 
one or more practising physicians, chosen, in the first place, 
from among the military physicians living in the region. The 
task of the practising physician is a noble one if taken seri- 
ously. "Too many of the interned men live from day to day, 
well lodged and well nourished, but idle. They lose the use, 
apparently, of their muscles {anchylosis) because of lack of 
work and failure to follow the treatment appropriate to the 
case." These are the words of a directing sanitary officer who 
adds: "The practising physician often occupied himself only 
with internal ailments. They would accomplish splendid 
results if they struggled against this inertia, urging and 
forcing the men to work instead of holding them back." 

Each directing sanitary officer has a clerk. These clerks, 
and all orderlies, are chosen, as far as possible, from among 
the interned men. Interned men receive their clothing from 
their native country. 



22 SWISS INTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 

MILITARY ZONES 

By order of the General Army Staff, military zones have 
been designated, and the boundaries indicated upon a map. 
Access to these zones is forbidden to the interned men. The 
General Staff, however, has reserved the privilege of granting 
special permission to detachments of interned men, assigned 
to special work, to enter the zones, and where warranted, 
other exceptions are made. In the case of mobilization, all 
the interned men in the regions are to be removed by routes 
which have already been mapped out. 

QUARTERS OF INTERNED MEN 

The men are quartered in hotels, boarding houses, sanitari- 
ums and the like. In selecting these, an investigation was first 
made in cooperation with the Society of Swiss Hotel Keepers. 
Special consideration was given to hotels in distress because 
of the war, but which at the same time met the required con- 
ditions. In all cases it was necessary to choose hotels but little 
frequented by foreigners as, for obvious reasons, it was neces- 
sary to avoid promiscuous association between foreigners and 
interned men. 

These establishments in no way resemble hospitals; sleep- 
ing accommodations for large numbers are rare; the rooms 
are bright and attractive and can, as a rule, receive two, three 
or at most four occupants. 

The interned soldiers are divided into two classes, in accor- 
dance with their quarters and their food: (a) Officers; (b) Non- 
commissioned officers, corporals, and soldiers, who are, as far 
as possible, quartered separately. Interned civilians form also 
two categories : (a) Those who can pay for their own support, 
to whom one region is assigned ; (b) those who cannot pay and 
who are treated as soldiers. 

No special contract has been concluded with the proprietors 
of the establishments, the Internment Department reserving 
the right at a moment's notice to clear any establishment if 
the military situation makes such a step advisable. 

The proprietors of the establishment are paid six francs 
for the officers and four francs for the soldiers. An increase 



LOCATION AND MAINTENANCE 23 

in this is allowed for tuberculous patients, for whom extra 
food is necessary. The maximum that can be paid is eight 
francs for officers and five francs for soldiers. 

The usual plan for feeding interned men fixes the kind and 
the quantity of nourishment which is to be furnished to each 
man. A menu has been established as follows: 

Bread 350-400 gr. 

Milk 750 gr. 

Meat without bones 175 gr. 

Potatoes 500 gr. 

Macaroni, rice, noodles, beans, peas, etc. 500-150 gr. 

Pastry, oats, barley, rice, etc., for soup 50 gr. 

Legumes to the value of 10 cents 

Cheese 50 gr. or 

Bacon 40 gr. or 

Sausage of corresponding nutritive value 

Coffee (roasted in 2 rations) 16 gr. or 

Cocoa (in 2 rations) 20 gr. or 

Coffee, 8 gr., and cocoa, 10 gr. 

Sugar 20 gr. 

Butter, perhaps in the form of melted butter 10-20 gr. 

Preserves 20 gr. or 

Fruit, cooked or raw 

This plan of alimentation does not afford much profit to 
the hotel keepers, especially in view of the constant increase 
in the price of the most necessary food. 

It is useless to insist upon the stupidity of rumors spread 
abroad by ignorant or malicious people, that Swiss hotel keep- 
ers, and the Swiss people in general, are exploiting the uni- 
versal wretchedness for their own profit. A book of menus is 
regularly kept by the manager of each establishment in which, 
besides the bill of fare for each meal, a space is reserved for 
observations or complaints of the interned men. 

Upon the request of the Prussian Ministry of War in the 
German regions, two interned men have been appointed as 
aids to each manager of an establishment to form a house- 
keeping commission for the purpose of controlling and eventu- 
ally transmitting complaints with reference to the menu. 

The hotel keeper must also keep a register of his purchases 
and of their use, in order to facilitate control over the meals. 

This organization gives ample opportunity to the hotel 



24 SWISS INTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 

keeper to defend himself in case of complaints, and allows the 
Swiss officer to control the food in each establishment. 

At the end of December, 1916, the Surgeon-General of the 
Army, after having consulted the directing sanitary officers, 
wrote to the State Department, that it would be easy to 
quarter 20,000 more interned men in Switzerland under the 
same conditions and without constructing barracks. 



CHAPTER IV 

EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES FOR INTERNED 
PRISONERS 

On June 27, 191 5, the Siviss University Work for Student 
Prisoners of War was formed with a central office at Lausanne, 
under the presidency of Professor M. Louis Maillard. 

With the consent of the Army Medical Staff, this organiza- 
tion assumed the intellectual care of the men interned in 
Switzerland. In June, 1916, a questionnaire was sent to all 
the internment regions for the purpose of determining how 
many interns in each region could be ready to follow courses. 
The work was started in September, and the student interns 
were permitted to follow courses in the principal intellectual 
centers of Switzerland, but were subject to the same rigid 
military discipline in force in the internment regions. 

The Swiss University Work divided the regions and sections 
among the different university committees of Geneva, Fri- 
bourg, Neuchatel, Berne, Zurich, B^le; procured books for 
study, created or developed regional libraries, facilitated access 
to the libraries already in existence, and organized conferences 
and lectures. Finally, arrangements were made so that the 
Federal Polytechnic School at Zurich, the Universities of Bale, 
Berne, Fribourg, Geneva, Lausanne, Neuchatel, and Zurich, 
the normal, secondary, and professional schools, the schools 
of commerce, etc., opened their courses to interned pupils and 
students. Blanks for registration were sent upon request. 
The last date for registration was the 5th of October. Only 
the interned men fulfilling the regular conditions were to have 
the status of regular students. The others who gave evidence 
of a satisfactory educational training were admitted as audi- 
tors. 

Swiss University Work made the following announcement: 
"The interned men who, forgetting the seriousness of the 



26 SWISS INTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 

times, think they will be able to compensate for the hard work 
of the lessons by the agreeable pursuits of a stay in the city, 
and who do not see anything better, the lazy, the incapable, 
the non-serious — if there are any — would do well to withdraw 
their requests and avoid penalties which are disagreeable for 
all concerned." 

It was at first feared that among the serious interned stu- 
dents, desirous and capable of following courses, some would 
slip in actuated by the sole desire of quitting a mountainous 
region to go to a center richer in diversions of all sorts. Com- 
missions, therefore, were nominated for each region to check 
over the requests for enrolment. These commissions were 
composed of the sanitary directing officer, a representative of 
Swiss University Work, an officer of university education 
for each nationality interested, and two secretaries. These 
commissions examined all requests for enrolment, saw certain 
interned men themselves, finally examined all doubtful cases, 
heard each one of those interested, and pronounced immedi- 
ately as to the admission of the candidate. 

Upon the request of the German Legation, German officers 
were permitted to study only in two categories: first, those 
who before the war were still students and whose studies had 
been interrupted by the war; second, those officers who, in 
consequence of wounds, would be obliged to change their 
vocation and prepare themselves by study for their future 
career. All other German officers were too busy themselves 
in the interest of the interned community, supervising work, 
courses, etc. 

It was inevitable that some of the students would abuse 
these privileges. A conference of the Commandants de Place 
was held at Berne, on December 12, to discuss ways and 
means to correct these abuses. 

The University Commandants de Place, having reported 
that the courses were not regularly attended and that certain 
interns took a ridiculously small number of hours in their 
courses, the army doctor gave the University Commandants 
de Place an order to establish a roster of such students, to 
follow their work very closely, and if it was unsatisfactory to 



EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES 27 

send them back into their regions. The attendance on the 
courses was to be controlled by attendance slips maintained 
by trustworthy interned students. It is of the greatest im- 
portance that the bad element does not discredit the interned 
students, and the Internment Department is taking all the 
measures in its power to combat such tendencies. The most 
severe control will be exercised over the whole membership 
and over each interned student. In the beginning they were 
much pampered by the Swiss population. 

The departure of the interned students has rendered mo- 
mentarily more difficult the' maintenance of discipline in cer- 
tain regions by depriving them of their best elements. The 
intellectual and artistic life in the regions has also suffered at 
times from this. Perhaps the demands of those interned 
wishing to study were not always considered carefully enough. 

The trade college in Switzerland decided that the interns 
should pay nothing to take its courses. Unfortunately, this 
created shocking inequalities among the students; thus, in 
the same lecture room a Swiss of small means who has paid to 
pursue the course might be seated next to an intern of means, 
who has paid nothing for the course. 

This university work has yielded to an initial movement of 
generosity from which it is difficult to withdraw. It is one 
case among many proving that in Switzerland we must see 
to it that our compatriots do not, in the end, feel themselves 
injured. This would induce a reaction all the more serious as 
compared with the first movement on behalf of the interns 
which was too spontaneous. 

At the Jaccard Lycee numerous courses for the interned, 
given by professors among the interns themselves, civilians 
or soldiers, were created in conjunction with the courses of 
the institution — courses in accountancy, stenography, com- 
mercial law, languages, and fifty-four hours of lessons given 
by seventeen non-commissioned officers, soldiers, or civilian 
interns. 

A technical school for interned Germans has been founded 
at Zurich, dependent upon the subdivision for interned stu- 
dents. In this school courses are given in algebra, geometry, 



28 SWISS INTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 

mechanics, electricity, chemistry, construction, and drawing; 
ten to twelve professors are attached to it and pupils have 
been sent to it from all the regions of the interned Germans. 

Other schools for interned men, which depend upon the 
subdivision for interned students, have been founded or are 
under consideration. They are only mentioned in this report 
because they did not begin work until after the 31st of Decem- 
ber, 1916. 

In the cities where interned students are staying, facilities 
of various kinds have been prepared, commutation rates for 
the street railways reduced, admission to libraries granted, 
either entirely free or at a moderate price, and admission per- 
mitted to various institutes, athletic clubs, and student activ- 
ities. 



1 



CHAPTER V 

CIVIL RIGHTS OF INTERNED PRISONERS 

Men interned in Switzerland have no legal domicile; they 
have only a domicile which is forced upon them, a domicile of 
restraint. They are considered as prisoners. As a result, they 
cannot resort to law on civil matters, nor can they engage in 
commercial pursuits. 

Interned men can marry during their stay in Switzerland. 
The marriage is contracted according to Swiss law, the in- 
terned soldier procuring the authorization of his marriage in 
accordance with the military laws of his country. Any in- 
terned man is permitted to marry when the State from which 
he comes declares its willingness to recognize his marriage. 
In the case of the decease of the interned man certain legal 
formalities are provided for. 

In discussing discipline one speaks primarily of men who 
disobey the rules adopted. Thus it is necessary from the begin- 
ning to insist upon the fact that the delinquents form a very 
small minority among the interned men, and that one must 
be on guard against offensive generalizations. The interned 
men, as a whole, are worthy of all the interest of the Swiss, 
but this interest ought to be intelligent. 

It was to be foreseen that, besides the good elements among 
the interned men, there would be evil elements; among the 
sick and wounded there would necessarily be men who were 
tuberculous, or more or less indisposed to medical treatment, 
either because of alcoholism or misconduct. There would also 
be unhappy ones who had been led astray by the life in the 
country and in the prisoner's camps, and finally, criminals, 
perhaps, who had undergone judicial sentence, and whom the 
camp commanders would be glad to have leave. 

It is certain that the two principal causes of breach of 
discipline among the interned men are alcohol and sexual 
immorality. 



30 SWISS INTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 

One will understand why numerous cases of breach of dis- 
cipline occur in the camps. Many of the soldiers are yet weak, 
having little moral or physical resistance, and are surprised 
by the reception which greets them. 

Severe penalties threaten any intern who makes untruth- 
ful statements concerning life in the prison camps. Interned 
men are also prohibited from giving information without spe- 
cial authorization from the Surgeon-General of the Army. 

At the beginning of internment, for many reasons, there were 
numerous cases of breach of discipline. Since the end of the 
year 1916, however, the discipline has improved, the Swiss 
and the interned men having become accustomed to one 
another. Certain evil elements have been eliminated, some 
of the men having been sent back into captivity or placed in 
disciplinary camps. The directing sanitary officers have aided 
one another, and have learned to know their men. The 
superior authority has taken suppressive measures and is 
still taking those which in the light of experience have shown 
themselves to be necessary, and now from the point of view 
of discipline internment is running normally. 

USE OF ALCOHOL 

The frequenting of inns and the use of alcohol are carefully 
regulated. The consumption of alcohol in daytime is pro- 
hibited. Exceptions may be made for the mid-day or the 
evening meal, with the authorization of the practising physi- 
cian, the Commandant de Place or the directing sanitary officer. 
In such instances the quantity is limited to two decaliters of 
wine or a half bottle of beer a man for each meal. 

From statistics of disciplinary punishments, one can see the 
role played by alcohol, and the danger incurred by the in- 
terned men from this point of view cannot be made too im- 
perative. Internment might be a marvel of organization, 
but if it did not take the necessary measures to prevent the 
ravages of alcohol upon interned men, the work of physical 
and moral regeneration would be sapped at its base. Alcohol, 
that great destroyer of the organism and the will, would pre- 
vent the men from again finding among us health and moral 



CIVIL RIGHTS 31 

force. Or if perchance they should regain their strength, 
the use of alcohol would again undermine it, and the noble 
work of internment would have been in vain. 

Internment has then a great task. The directing sanitary 
officers and the Commandant de Place have closed or restricted 
certain cafes, but their efforts are often rendered useless by 
the population in general and by the municipal powers of cer- 
tain localities (Leysin, for example) which do not wish to take 
any measure to keep interned men out of the cafes. 

The monthly reports from the regions are almost unanimous 
in designating alcohol as the cause of most of the punishments. 
As one monthly report says (Central Switzerland) : "It is 
always the same old story, wine, woman, and song, and song 
is the least harmful." 

The English soldiers receive too much money. Thus, ac- 
cording to the September, 1916, report from Miirren, 8,000 
francs poured into the camp in two days (September 20 and 
21). The effect of this money is seen in that while there were 
only six punishments between the 12th and the 31st of August, 
there were sixty-five in September, in spite of the prohibition 
of liquor drinking and the closing of the cafes. 

The sending of money is a great danger, not only for the 
English but for all interned men, and consequently for the 
welfare of all the regions. Thus, in the section of Diable- 
rets, it has been stated that 270 interned men in that section 
received 23,000 francs in two months, of which 900 francs 
came from Switzerland, and as a consequence there were many 
disorders in this section. 

INSTITUTIONS FOR THOSE AFFLICTED WITH ALCOHOLISM 

The establishments for those afflicted with alcoholism are 
under the orders of a Swiss officer, who exercises the function 
of a Commandant de Place, and one or two non-commissioned 
officers, adjutants, sergeant-majors, and sergeants. 

The discipline in the establishments for those afflicted with 
alcohol is exceedingly difficult to maintain; the men who are 
there cannot go out walking, and the admission to the cafes is 
denied to them, although very often the population gives them 



32 SWISS INTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 

drink. They have no money, for the money-orders which are 
addressed to them are returned, but some of the prisoners are 
clever enough to have their money-orders addressed to some 
resident who hands over the money to them. 

This compHcity of the population to which we have re- 
ferred a number of times has caused many difficulties in this 
place as well as in many others. It is necessary to send the 
unmanageable into a disciplinary camp as soon as a serious 
fault is committed. 

MILITARY JURISDICTION 

The judicial affairs of the interned men are governed by 
military laws. On July i, 1916, the Federal MiHtary Depart- 
ment designated to the military courts jurisdiction of the 
various regions occupied by the interned. 

In cases of serious breach of discipline, transcending the 
military courts, the directing sanitary officer takes the neces- 
sary steps to prevent the escape of the supposed culprit. He 
collects the evidences of the delinquency and conducts a pre- 
liminary investigation. The result of this investigation is 
sent to the Surgeon-General of the Army, who decides whether 
the case shall be sent to the military courts or shall be simply 
the object of disciplinary penalty. 

If the case is to be brought before a military court, the 
Surgeon-General of the Army, or, upon his order, the directing 
sanitary officer, orders an investigation. The interned man, 
against whom a judicial inquiry is directed and whose arrest 
is required, is placed under simple arrest, to the exclusion of 
any other severe treatment. The order demanding an in- 
quiry goes to the examining magistrate of the military court 
having jurisdiction over the region from which the interned 
man in question comes. The judge of the military court can 
conduct the inquiry, and justice follows its course without any 
interference on the part of the military authorities. The 
execution of the sentence belongs to the Military Department 
of the canton where the interned man is residing. 

In cases of crime committed by civilians against interned 
men the ordinary courts have jurisdiction. 



CIVIL RIGHTS 33 

• The monthly reports from the regions indicate that the 
discipHne is improving. There were, at the beginning, great 
difficulties and some mistakes. But, little by little, the evil 
elements have been eliminated and the Commandants de Place 
have learned to know their men, and have more time to study 
individual cases. Finally, in many localities, officers of the 
service for interned men have been installed who have aided 
the task of the Swiss officers. All classes of the population are 
becoming accustomed to internment although their conduct 
still leaves much to be desired. 



CHAPTER VI 

TREATMENT IN SANITARY INSTITUTIONS 

It will be recalled that internment in Switzerland began with 
tuberculous patients, but other categories were at once 
admitted for internment, so that finally, in the list of 
eighteen categories of sicknesses or wounds which were ap- 
proved as warranting internment, there are only two cate- 
gories of the tuberculous. 

All interned men are carefully examined by physicians and 
assigned for treatment. The cases of malarial infection are 
numerous among interned men. On July 20, 1916, the Sur- 
geon-General of the Army published a treatise by Professor 
Cloetta of Zurich on the latest researches which had been 
made on the subject of malaria and the method of treating it. 
There was some question about opening institutions for epi- 
leptics, but the Surgeon-General of the Army has given up 
the plan, because the number of men afflicted with this disease 
did not warrant such a step. 

SURGICAL OR ORTHOPEDIC TREATMENTS 

In view of the great number of wounded who arrived in 
Switzerland insufficiently treated or cared for, it was im- 
perative to obtain in all the regions of internment a detailed 
and uniform examination of all the cases of war-wounds de- 
manding surgical or orthopedic treatment as well as informa- 
tion necessary for the treatment of these cases. 

In September, 1916, the Surgeon-General of the Army 
ordered Captain Matti, Sanitary Captain of Berne, to visit 
all the regions and to examine all cases for which there might 
be a question of surgical or orthopedic treatment. 

The increase in the number of interned men, however, 
soon made it necessary to divide the regions of internment 
into four zones, each to be inspected by a supervising surgeon 
to examine surgical cases and pass upon the necessity of an 
operation. 



1 



TREATMENT IN SANITARY INSTITUTIONS 35 

THE SANITARY INSTITUTION OF THE ARMY AT LUCERNE 

A. S. A. Armee-Sanitdts-Anstalt 

In the instructions addressed, on June i8, 1916, to the direct- 
ing sanitary officers, the Surgeon-General of the Army, an- 
nounced the installation at Lucerne of a sanitary institution 
under the military and technical direction of Captain Dr. Brun. 
"In this institution," he said, "special attention will be paid 
to war-wounds of every kind and their consequences, also to 
those cases in which modern medicine and surgery can reduce 
fatalities to a minimum." 

^ The Armee-Sanitats-Anstalt is the central hospital for sur- 
gical cases among the interned, and the first operation was 
performed there on July 4, 1916. The cases which have since 
been treated there may be divided into the following categories : 
nervous sutures, trepannings (especially for epileptic troubles 
due to wounds upon the skull), pseudorthroses, anchylosis, 
contractions of the limbs when fractures have been badly 
healed, fistulas (of the bones, of the lungs, or intestines), etc. 
The Armee-Sanitats-Anstalt contains 190 beds divided 
among the wounded of different nationalities, eighty-four beds 
for the Germans, seventy-eight for the French and Belgians, 
twenty-two for the English, and six for the officers. There 
have been three or four interned civilians suffering from 
hernia, etc., who have been cared for at the sanitary institu- 
tion. 

During the first six months of its existence, an average of 
eighty-one Germans, twenty-three English, three Belgians, 
seventy-two Frenchmen lived at the hospital, and the number 
of interned men who enter and leave the sanitary institution 
each week is between twenty-five and thirty. Except for 
three or four beds, which are reserved for cases of urgent 
need, all the beds are continually occupied. Up to the 31st 
of December, 1916, there had been 457 operations which, with 
the exception of Sundays, make an average of three operations 
per day. 

The staff is composed of eleven surgeons, three physicians, 
and seventy-six assistants, fourteen of whom are Catholic 
sisters from Ingenbohl. A polyclinic service in three hotels 



36 



SWISS INTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 



is dependent on the sanitary institution; one for the French 
and Belgians, one for the EngHsh, and one for the Germans. 

As there are more wounded men waiting than can be ac- 
commodated at Lucerne, a new sanitary institution will be 
established at Fribourg. Meanwhile, several private clinics 
have been opened with the approval of the sanitary institution. 

Many difficulties arose, and it became necessary to establish 
strict rules designating the classes of interned men who must 
pay for operations, medical and dental attention, etc., and 
those who could obtain services free. 

The list of men, wounded or afflicted with serious diseases, 
who were interned in Switzerland, March 6, 1917, follows: 

Classification of the Afflictions of the Interned 

MARCH 6, I917 





Germans 


French 


Belgians 


English 


Men with amputations 


45 


80 


2 


24 


Men with functional loss of limbs 


172 


330 


18 


49 


Epileptics 


74 


113 


29 


24 


Men afflicted definitely with ne- 










phritis 


70 


225 


17 


II 


Diabetes melitus 


II 


76 


I 


I 


Mental cases including severe 










neurasthenia 


40 


165 


24 


14 


Totals 


412 


989 


91 


123 



Grand total 1615 



CHAPTER VII 

RECREATION AND OCCUPATIONS FOR 
INTERNED PRISONERS 

Work is a necessity for interned war prisoners. It is the 
only way to restore them after the ravages that sickness, 
wounds, and a long captivity have made on their minds and 
bodies. Switzerland must furnish the interned prisoner with 
diversion so that he does not become lazy and fall a prey to 
the numerous temptations that he finds in our country. She 
must make, or remake, men of them, so that once the war is 
over they will be capable of establishing a family; or if they 
have a family, of resuming their life with it on a proper basis 
and so to lift up their country. It is our desire to send back 
to the belligerent states workers — not loafers. 

"Work," says a circular of the Belgian Legation, "is a moral 
and physical necessity. A desire to avoid it is shameful treason 
toward the Fatherland ; no Belgian in good health has the right 
to remain inactive." 

Immediately after the arrival of the first interned prisoners, 
the public interested itself in providing occupation for them 
which would be both interesting and healthful from a moral, 
religious, and social point of view. 

Work has been declared obligatory for every intern whose 
health permits it. As soon as he is sufficiently well to be con- 
sidered cured and capable of doing satisfactory work, his name 
is handed to the Surgeon-General, whose duty it is to find for 
him work which will permit him to earn his living and yet 
avoid competition with Swiss industry. Provision was 
made at the beginning that the work of the interned prisoner 
should not compete with Swiss labor. 

Work could not be demanded of all the interned. Many 
arrived in Switzerland wounded, sick, shaken by the war, dis- 
couraged by captivity, and incapable of any work. Very 



38 SWISS INTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 

quickly in some cases, slowly in others, the men regained 
their physical, moral, and intellectual strength. Some, how- 
ever, could not recover sufficiently to enable them to work. 
Little by little those who were able to work grew more numer- 
ous, and it then became necessary to allot the work according 
to the degree of health of the prisoner, also keeping in mind 
his aptitude or his trade before the war. 

In order to take into account all of these conditions, the 
State Department, on July 8, 1916, divided the interned — 
and this is the basis of every labor organization — into six 
classes : 

1 . Those incapable of any work. 

2. Those capable of doing some work, and who can be employed 

either in the establishments of the internment camp, as postal 
clerks, officers' orderlies, kitchen helpers, etc., or for work useful 
to interned barbers, shoemakers, tailors, etc. 

3. Prisoners capable of being employed at light tasks outside of the 

institutions of the internment camp for a few hours only. The 
interned prisoners at work in the shops organized by Pro Captivis 
were included in this class. 

4. Prisoners capable of all work outside of the sections of internment. 

These may be divided into: (c) those who work in building and 
in excavation gangs ; {h) those who perform individual labor (lib- 
eral professions, workmen having served an apprenticeship, fac- 
tory workers, etc.). 

5. Prisoners, under the name of apprentices, who are obliged to learn 

a new profession or a new trade because of being incapacitated. 

6. Prisoners who wish to study. 

The separation of the prisoners into these different classes 
is entrusted to practising physicians who must act with pru- 
dence. 

Work is compulsory and any refusal to obey is punished, 
except that non-commissioned officers, beginning with the 
grade of sergeant, cannot be required to work. The same is 
true of interned civilians. It is not for the Swiss, but for 
himself, that the prisoner works and is obliged to work. He 
works for his own welfare and re-education, the uplifting and 
maintenance of his moral character. 



RECREATION AND OCCUPATIONS 39 

SHOPS 

Class three comprises the interned capable of light work dur- 
ing part of the day. The order prescribes light labor for them, 
such as work in the country. The largest part of interned pris- 
oners assigned for a few hours to light tasks, are employed in 
shops founded by a special committee called Pro Captivis. 

A word on the origin of the committee called Pro Captivis 
is necessary. Pro Captivis originated at Berne in the beginning 
of 1 91 5, as a supplementary bureau to the German service of 
the Geneva Prisoners' Agency. Cards were made there and 
sent to Geneva, and the work ended. 

Pro Captivis then became in principle a neutral relief bureau, 
but as there already existed at Berne a relief bureau for Eng- 
lish, French, and Russian prisoners. Pro Captivis, filled a gap 
by sending packets to the German and Austrian prisoners. 
Upon the arrival of the first interned the attention of the 
Surgeon-General was drawn to the usefulness that Pro Cap- 
tivis might have for the Department of Internment. This 
committee then became exclusively Swiss and to it the Sur- 
geon-General gave the organization of laundering. There was 
immediate response from the Swiss women who desired to 
assist in cleaning and mending the clothing of the prisoners. 
It was decided that one franc and a half per month should be 
allotted to the prisoner for his laundry. But that was not 
sufficient and the Swiss women mended without charge. 

At the time of the arrival of the interned, enthusiasm for 
them was at its height among our people. Pro Captivis, how- 
ever, without any display, got into touch with the Catholic 
and Protestant committees of the Armee de la Jeune Fille 
and other committees of moral uplift. These committees have 
spread out and have answered with zeal the demand dis- 
creetly made by Pro Captivis. 

Pro Captivis understood immediately the necessity of fur- 
nishing occupation to the prisoners. Two shops were estab- 
lished, one at Brunnen for shoes, the other at Meiringen for 
basket work. Pro Captivis also organized in its shops appren- 
tice courses for Class five. Its success having passed every 
expectation, the attention of the Army was called to it. At 



40 SWISS INTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 

the end of August, 1916, the War Committee proposed that 
the internment treasury "fed by the fifty cantonments" should 
make advances for the purchase of raw products (rattan) 
coming from France. The Surgeon- General approved this 
project. 

Impulse was thus given to the work of the shops. Women 
directors of districts were appointed by the Committee of 
Pro Captivis. These women got into touch with the chiefs of 
regions and studied with them where and how the work could 
be organized and what kind of work should be organized in 
the different localities. 

The following industries have been organized: 

Slipper Electric lamp 
Basket (willow and rattan) Calendar 

Knitting of socks Wood-carving 

Carpentry Net-making (hammocks, tennis- 
Marquetry nets, etc.) 

Embossed leather Lamp-shade 

Embossed metal Pillow-lace 

Book-binding Shoe 

Toy Raffia 
Surgeons' aprons 

Fifty shops are now run by Pro Captivis. Thirty of them 
are in German Switzerland, and twenty in French Switzerland. 
These shops founded by Pro Captivis employ about 1,140 
prisoners. 

As we have already said, in addition to the shops founded 
by Pro Captivis or those depending upon the society, other 
committees have formed shops and have nearly the same 
organization as those established by Pro Captivis. 

In several regions interned officers have been appointed to 
supervise the work. For this, men with technical and com- 
mercial training have been chosen. They exercise a general 
supervision over the shops. 

The interned work four or five hours a day. It must be 
recalled that most of these belong to Classes three and five, 
that is to say, men partially capable of work or incapacitated 
men who must learn a new trade. Interned belonging to Class 



RECREATION AND OCCUPATIONS 4I 

four work only in shops when they cannot be employed other- 
wise. 

The interned in shops receive in general twenty centimes an 
hour, that is to say, eighty centimes, up to one franc, a day. 
Of the earnings of the interned working in the shops, forty 
per cent, is held back, half of which (twenty per cent.) is 
placed in the section treasury and cannot be drawn upon 
except for the needs of the interned of this section, and the 
other half (twenty per cent.) is used to meet a part of the ex- 
penses of the prison and is placed in the general treasury of their 
native country. This measure has been much discussed, and 
by an order of November 30, 1916, this withholding of forty 
per cent, can be made only when the interned prisoner has 
earned at least one franc per day. 

On December 12, a further modification was made. Up to 
the sum of fifty centimes (and not more than a franc) the 
wages of the interned of Classes three and five are not subject to 
any retention. 

The regular retention of forty per cent, can be applied only 
to earnings surpassing fifty centimes; that is, out of a wage of 
sixty centimes there will be kept back forty per cent, of ten 
centimes, or four per cent. This retention has not been ac- 
cepted by England for her subjects. 

Following a conference held December 8, the department 
charged with obtaining occupation for the interned was de- 
tached from Pro Captivis and was placed under the Intern- 
ment Department, taking the name of Directoire Centrale des 
Ateliers. 

The central headquarters on internment after having re- 
ceived the books of Pro Captivis and having found a deficit 
of about 18,000 francs took entire charge. 

This question of shops, raw material and outlets, is very 
difficult and demands commercial knowledge that only a pro- 
fessional can have. However, the shops must not be con- 
sidered solely from the commercial point of view. There is 
also the point of view of discipline. Even if the Department 
of Internment has to bear a deficit from the shops after the 
war, if the service of internment has made good progress from 



42 SWISS INTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 

the disciplinary point of view and from the social point of 
view, and if we return to the Powers men who have been 
revived and reconstituted by means of work, there will be no 
need of regretting that this work has cost us more than it has 
brought us. 

This is not saying that it is not necessary to take all possible 
measures to organize the work in the most practical fashion. 

SELF-MANAGING SHOPS 

As already stated above, numerous shops were created at 
the beginning of internment by private initiative at Leysin 
and elsewhere. Some of these shops have kept their inde- 
pendence, while others have been joined to Pro Captivis and 
are now dependent upon the central office. Others have dis- 
appeared, and some have become national shops. 

INDEPENDENT COMMITTEES 

Local committees for obtaining work for the men pursue 
their activity with the consent of the Surgeon-General of the 
Army as long as they work rationally and in accord with the 
organizations sanctioned by the service of internment. New 
committees of this kind, nevertheless, should no longer enter 
upon such activity independently of the central management 
of shops. 

SOCIAL HALLS, LIBRARIES, LECTURES, AND 
RELIGIOUS SUPERVISION 

Social halls for soldiers have been tested in our army. It 
is evident that they can also be of great value for the interned 
men, but social centers for interned men are necessary only 
in those places where access to the cafes is denied to them, 
as, for example, at Leysin or at Bex. 

In other sections, the interned men find in their establish- 
ments, halls which are heated, lighted, and supplied with read- 
ing matter, billiards, writing equipment, and even stages for 
dramatic presentations, concerts, lectures, etc. This is the 
case in Bas-Valais, at Bagnes, Moegins, Salvan, Martigny, 
Vernayaz, and in other regions. At Shinznach there are no 
real social halls but there are reading rooms with books and 
papers, and a monthly lecture or a concert is given. 



RECREATION AND OCCUPATIONS 43 

With one or two exceptions, there are no social halls in the 
regions for German prisoners, and the Swiss officers in these 
regions report that the need of them does not make itself felt. 

It is obviously good for the interned men that alcohol is 
not an indispensable element of sociability. The help to each 
is beneficial and the morale is elevated by lectures, dramatic 
performances, and concerts given from time to time. Interned 
men who take part in these things find an interest which keeps 
them from idleness. At St. Legier, Blonay, the social hall is 
opened only twice a week and yet is a source of constant 
interest. These meetings are attended, on an average, by 
two-thirds of the interned men in the section. 

Certain social halls are used for other purposes. Thus at 
Miirren, the English social hall shelters the Temperance 
Rambling Club, with seventy members, and the orchestra of 
the interned men, and courses are given, with instruction in 
wood-carving. 

Commissions from the Christian Associations 
A communication of the General Staff, relative to interned 
men (February 24, 1916), reads as follows: "The generous offer 
of service on the part of the Swiss Y. M. C. A. in the interest 
of interned men is accepted with gratitude." The Romanic 
Commission of the Y. M. C. A. for sick prisoners furnishes 
interned French, English, and Belgian prisoners with writing 
material, reading matter, and the like, and is doing an exten- 
sive work. The German Commission {der Christliche Verein 
junger Manner) for sick war prisoners fulfils the same function 
with reference to German prisoners. 

Commission of German Switzerland 
This commission was founded February 17, 1916, at the 
suggestion of Soldatenfiirsorge to work among interned men 
in the same manner as the Romanic Commission, with which 
it has cooperated. It does not arrange for the distribution of 
circulating libraries, but it seeks to make more complete the 
libraries already existing in the sections, and sends games and 
writing material to interned Germans and at some stations 
to interned Frenchmen in Central Switzerland. 



44 SWISS INTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 

The Swiss Catholic Mission 

The Catholic Mission, founded to bring moral assistance to 
prisoners of war, since the beginning of internment has pro- 
vided for the religious needs of interned men. It sends every 
day 1,271 copies of various periodicals to interned men, to- 
gether with books and scores of reviews which circulate about 
the regions. It also has organized a series of lectures which 
aim to acquaint the interned men with Switzerland from the 
point of view of geography, history, and industrial and social 
conditions, etc. Some of the lectures have dealt with alcohol- 
ism and general subjects. 

Worship and the Care of Souls 

At the end of February, 19 16, the spiritual needs of the 
interned men were entrusted to the Swiss Society of Chap- 
lains. Chaplain Captain Hubert Savoy was appointed Chap- 
lain-in-Chief for the Catholics; the direction of the work for 
the Protestants was entrusted to Chaplain Captain Spahn, 
at Schaffhouse, and the Society of Rote Mogen David under 
the presidency of Dr. M. Erlanger, at Lucerne, was to care for 
the Jews. 

National Shops 

The national shops were founded for the men of Class four 
of the embassies and legations acting with the consent of the 
Surgeon-General of the Army. They are managed directly 
through the medium of the embassies, but with the approval 
of the Surgeon-General. 

Interned Men in Class Four 

Belonging to Class four are those interned men who are 
capable of carrying on any work. They are assigned to tasks 
by commissions named by the State Department. The prac- 
tising physician must give his approval of the assignment. 
He should also see that the interned man is professionally 
qualified to do the work for which he presents himself. Em- 
ployers throughout Switzerland were distrustful at first of the 
quality of work to be expected from the interns, but confidence 



RECREATION AND OCCUPATIONS 45 

in their ability and willingness to work grew rapidly. Many 
requests are now received from employers who submit their 
request for men, furnishing full details of the kind of work 
offered. 

The regional commissions examine the requests of employers 
to determine whether they present all the necessary guaran- 
tees to carry out engagements with the interned men and 
second, to see that the employment does not conflict with the 
rights of Swiss workmen. 

After this examination the Regional Commission forwards 
the request of the employer and all data to the Central Com- 
mission. The Central Commission examines the employer's 
request anew, especially from the viewpoint of Swiss industry. 
By means of card indexes, the commission then appoints men 
for the tasks or else simply ratifies a request of the employer 
who often has designated what interned man he desires to 
employ. The employer's request is transmitted by the 
Central Commission to the office of the Surgeon-General of 
the Army, who releases the men for the undertaking. 

The regulations for interned men of Class four when once 
released for work, are very complicated, and often men so 
released, have seriously infringed upon these regulations with- 
out any evil intent upon their part. 

The men are compelled to do the work required and have no 
right to discuss the conditions. While under the orders of the 
Regional Commission the men are under its protection. The 
Regional Commission protects the interned man; it takes his 
part when it is a question between his rights and those of his 
employer. The employer must resort to the Central Com- 
mission if he believes himself defrauded. The Regional Com- 
mission must determine whether the employer is holding him- 
self to the conditions and to the promises made. 

The interned men of Class four provide for their own support 
while they are at work, but their countries grant a bonus of 
four francs to those of their citizens, such as field-workers, 
masons, and slaters, who work in the open air, for Sundays and 
the days of idleness caused by bad weather, unless the work- 
men are lodged and fed by the employer. 



46 SWISS INTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 

It is not without interest to recall that the Federal Depart- 
ment of the Interior has been engaged in struggles against the 
destruction of the walnut tree in Switzerland. In this coun- 
try the improvement of the walnut tree by grafting, such as is 
practised in Southern France, is of great importance, but our 
Swiss gardeners do not understand the art of grafting the wal- 
nut tree. The Department of the Interior wrote about this 
matter, on November 22, 1916, to the Surgeon-General of the 
Army, who had a list drawn up of French interned gardeners 
(especially from the Departement de L'Esere) who would be 
willing in return for appropriate recompense to instruct the 
Swiss gardeners in walnut tree grafting. By the end of Janu- 
ary, 191 7, twenty men were registered for this work. 

The occupations most sought by the interned were, up to 
December 31, 1916, as follows: Agriculture, butchers, jewelers, 
barbers, shoemakers, plumbers, cabinet-makers, carpenters, 
employees of the officer, furriers, gas-fitters, watch-makers, 
gardeners, masons, general workmen, mechanics, miners, 
millers, workers in iron, glass makers. 

All work on the manufacture of munitions, explosives, or 
parts of weapons of war is prohibited to interned men. 

The interned men of Class four released for work wear a 
uniform, but during their work may put on special clothes. 
At no time are they allowed to mix these two kinds of clothing. 
The interned men so far as possible are subject to military 
discipline and to the control of the local and cantonal police, 
and cannot go outside of a certain section. In some instances 
trusted non-commissioned officers are given charge of groups 
of these outdoor workers. 



CHAPTER VIII 

ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION 
OF INTERNMENT SERVICE 

The Surgeon-General of the Army is at the head of the in- 
ternment system. Ha is in daily association with the offices 
which are situated at Berne, and which are as follows : 

1. The central bureau for internment which controls: 

a. The section for interned French and Belgians. 

b. The section for interned Germans and Austrians. 

c. The section for interned English. 

d. The administrative offices. 

e. The section of reports from the front. 
/. The labor section. 

g. The section of the Quartermaster-General. 
/?. The officer acting as aid to the Surgeon-General of the Army 
for disciplinary and judicial matters. 

2. The Information Office. 

3. The Central Bureau of Swiss Work Shops. 

4. The Central Labor Commission. 

The Quartermaster-General has jurisdiction over two sec- 
tional quartermasters, one for the regions of interned Germans 
with offices at Lucerne, the other for the regions of the in- 
terned of the Entente, with offices at Montreux. 

The Surgeon-General makes frequent visits to the different 
sections and keeps in direct touch with the sanitary officers 
and the University Commandants de Place. By means of 
general conferences, over which he presides, he gives orders 
and directions and brings up questions for open discussion. 
The officers can also discuss freely the questions which bother 
them and make suggestions which they may deem necessary. 
These conferences are usually held monthly. 

Direct communication with the ambassadors and the lega- 
tions is also maintained by the Surgeon-General and he re- 
ceives the representatives of the different governments which 



48 SWISS INTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 

come to Switzerland to visit the different internment camps. 
He is in daily communication with the General Staff of the 
Army and with the Department of State. 

The questions treated are often very difficult; it is neces- 
sary not to infringe on the rights of the belligerents 
over their charges, and yet not to permit these States to usurp 
powers which Switzerland can and must exercise. It is 
constantly necessary to watch for little infringements 
which may come up, often more by chance than intention. 
In the internment camps, just as in a great many other places, 
neutrality is, from experience, a delicate thing, the limits of 
which are frequently difficult to ascertain. For this part of 
the task, which is not a small thing, the Surgeon-General must 
act under the direction of the Political Department. 

A Bureau of Information has been founded at Berne which 
consists of one Swiss officer, sixteen subordinate officers or 
soldiers, and eighteen civilians. It performs the following 
services : 

1. It obtains information needed for internment camps. 

2. It maintains an up-to-date catalogue of the reports of all the pris- 

oners examined by the Swiss Commission and of all the interned 
men. Up to January, 1917, it had 110,000 records, as follows: 
52,500 French 
4,600 Belgian 
5,500 English 
47,300 German and Austrian 
These card reports give the address and a report of the health of 
each man examined by the Swiss Commission. 

3. It receives the demands of the prisoners for internment and for re- 

patriation. 

4. It arranges for the convoy of returned or repatriated men and con- 

trols the lists of interned men transferred. 

5. It keeps a record of deaths, of repatriations, escapes, of civilians 

who are approaching their fifty-sixth year, of all men examined 
by the Swiss Commission (according to nationality), and of the 
returns of the Commission of Control, etc. 

Up to the end of January, 1917, the Bureau of Information 
had received 1,030 visits and had written 25,656 letters or 
postal cards. 



ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION 49 

ADMINISTRATION OF INTERNMENT 

The development of internment, unexpected as it was, 
necessitated the adoption of elaborate administrative orders 
and regulations. Those which appeared up to the end of 
January, 191 7, for the regions of the Entente, were sixty-two 
in number and for the regions of the Central Powers, sixty- 
eight. 

The War Commissioner of the Army is chief superintendent 
of the administration of internment. He names the officials. 
The latter were at first: central quartermaster, sectional 
quartermasters, and responsible accountants. The entire ad- 
ministration is vested in the quartermaster, who gives all 
administrative orders and is responsible for all accounts. His 
office is at Berne. 

The rapid growth of internment made it necessary to 
abolish the office of central quartermaster, and to create for 
each group of powers a special quartermaster bearing the title 
Sectional Quartermaster. The Sectional Quartermaster for 
the Entente is located at Montreux, the one for the Central 
Powers, at Lucerne. 

The accountant responsible for each region was, at first, 
exclusively a Swiss non-commissioned officer, most often a 
quartermaster. The need was soon felt of replacing non-com- 
missioned officers with commissioned officers to serve as re- 
sponsible accountants. As a matter of fact, the responsibility 
which was assumed did not correspond at all to the rate and 
pay of a non-commissioned officer. In spite of the varied and 
complicated administrative duties which they have exercised, 
the non-commissioned officers are not for the most part con- 
vinced of the distinction of their task. 

Superintendents and Reports 

The whole administration of internment rests upon the 
superintendent and his reports. Every establishment (hotel, 
hospital, etc.) serving interned men has to make a daily report 
giving the number of interned men. This report is signed by 
the superintendent of the institution and by the inn-keeper. 
These reports are embodied in a daily report for the region, 



50 SWISS INTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 

copies of which are sent to the embassies, legations, and quar- 
termasters of the district. In this way, all the administrations 
are informed with reference to the stopping place of each in- 
terned man. 

The regional reports enable the central quartermaster to 
prepare a daily report for the Surgeon-General of the Army. 
This report contains the total number of men interned in 
Switzerland, classified according to nationality and rank. 

Accounts and Treasury 

A separate account is kept for each country. Switzerland 
advances necessary funds and accounts are rendered every 
ten days to the Federal Treasury, which in turn notifies the 
Swiss National Bank of the sums required, which are then put 
at the disposal of the regions, in general, by bank clearances 
upon the Post Office or upon a bank. 

Each region forms an accounting unit. If the region con- 
tains interned men of different nationalities, a special account 
for each nation is kept. This renders the accounting system of 
internment very complicated. The office of the Quartermaster- 
General at Berne and the offices of the sectional quartermas- 
ters have each their own system of accounts. 

The Surgeon-General of the Army sends monthly accounts 
to the State Department which hands them over to the dif- 
ferent legations. The belligerent nations should discharge 
their obligations and make payment for the sum due to the 
Federal offices of the Treasury within the following month. 
Up to the present, these payments have not taken place 
according to requirements. Frequently, they have been made 
for several months at a time, or, indeed, payments of large 
sums have been made in round figures as instalments. The 
expenses incurred by Switzerland, in sums advanced, and 
not paid back at the end of January, amounted to seventeen 
millions. 

The Quartermaster-General, while waiting for reimburse- 
ment, is forced to keep the amount of these advances as low 
as possible. In accordance with the regulations, the strictest 
economy should be observed in the expenses of internment. 



ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION 5I 

Statistical tables of expenses have been drawn up which show 
great differences between the expenses of the different regions 
and between the different kinds of expenses in these regions. 
Every month five hundred and fifty-five accounts with about 
31,600 documents added, are drawn up, which gives an idea 
of the work which devolves upon the various branches of the 
administration, 

A great increase in administrative work has been occasioned, 
in the first place, by the distribution of men in the hospitals, 
and by the distinction between interned army men and in- 
terned civilians, paying or non-paying. There then followed 
the creation of the different classes of laborers and of the sec- 
tional treasuries, and finally, the subdivision for interned stu- 
dents. 

POSTAL ARRANGEMENTS 

Since the internment of sick or wounded prisoners of war 
has been placed by the Federal Council upon a military foot- 
ing, and is under the jurisdiction of the Surgeon-General of the 
Army, the postal service for interned men has been, for this rea- 
son, attached to the postal service of the country. The service of 
the latter has been singularly burdened by the correspondence 
of twenty-seven to twenty-eight thousand interned Germans, 
English, Belgians, and French, with their own countries. 

It has been admitted on principle, that no increase of labor 
or expense because of the interned men ought to interfere with 
the regular postal arrangement. Thus, in every institution 
where interned men are living, an interned man (generally a 
non-commissioned officer) has been appointed postal orderly, 
who receives the mail at the Post Office and distributes it. 

In sections where there are numerous interned men and 
where the ordinary postal arrangements care for only restricted 
localities as at Leysin, Miirren, Engelberg, Weggis, special 
places have been arranged at the expense of the internment, 
in which the postal orderlies sort the mail of the interned men. 

At the end of the year 1916, there were 572 postal orderlies, 
who, in general, had performed their service conscientiously. 
At the same period of time, for example, they had paid 157,920 
postal orders representing 4,192,685 francs. 



52 SWISS INTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 

Only five postal orderlies (three French and two German) 
have been guilty of breach of faith. The losses which have 
resulted from this have been charged to the state from which 
the guilty man came. 

At the end of the year 1916, 223 post offices maintained a 
service for interned men, of which 161 employed interned men 
ordered to this special service. 

The collecting bureaus of the country posts of Lausanne, 
Berne, Lucerne, Bale, Zurich, St. Gall, and Coire, performed 
the postal service for the interned men in place of the civil post. 

In the post office at Lucerne, the Swiss, German, English, 
and French postal orderlies from the A. S. A. meet together 
without any embarrassment ever having resulted. A post card 
has been published illustrating this fact. 

On arrival at his place of internment, the interned man re- 
ceives a white post-card which bears a form which he needs 
only to fill out to give his Swiss address to his friends in foreign 
lands. The superintendents of the establishments are sup- 
posed to supply the local post office with a list of names of their 
men and to notify this office, by means of a card prepared for 
this purpose, of any change that takes place. 

Military post cards have been placed at the disposal of the 
interned men, and up to the present 480,000 of them have been 
distributed. 

For the letters which go to Constance, the English, Belgians, 
and French, have special envelopes with a special heading 
given to them by the general post office. Thirteen thousand 
of these envelopes have been given to the English, 38,000 to 
the Belgians, and 100,000 to the French. 

The office at Kreuslingen serves as a collecting office for the 
transmission of mail of the interns to the censor's office at 
Constance. 

All these measures of concentration have had as their result, 
not only a great facilitation of the work of the censor's office, 
but they have also regulated the postal traffic of the Belgians 
and the French in the occupied regions. 

For the postal traffic with France, the post office at Neuchitel 
serves as a collecting bureau. 



ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION 53 

The letters of interned men, in order to benefit by free post- 
age, must bear on the addressed side the name of the sender, 
and they must be brought to the post office only by the postal 
orderly. The post offices in internment sections all have the 
same stamp, which bears, in addition to the name of the local- 
ity, the following words : Kriegsgefangenen-Ifiternierung in der 
Schweiz or Internment des prisonniers de guerre en Suisse. The 
whole internment service employs the same stamp, or envelopes 
bearing this heading. No other stamp and no other heading is 
recognized as valid. If thiswere not true, control of free postage 
would be impossible. 

The interned men for a while enjoyed absolutely free postage 
in Switzerland and reduced postage for packages in foreign 
countries. There was no limit to the number of articles sent. 
This resulted little by little in an excessive use of the postal 
facilities, not only to foreign countries but also within Switzer- 
land. Some interned men have sent by post more than fifty 
picture post cards at one time and fifteen to twenty letters in 
a single day. Furthermore, the sending and receiving of mail 
matter free of postage by interned men reached the number of 
40,000 a day which gave an average of i .04 pieces sent per man 
per day. 

This excess of mail matter sent necessitated the suppression 
of the franking privilege, for the internal postal service between 
civilians and interned men and the number of pieces sent free 
of postage to foreign lands, letters, post cards, printed matter, 
samples, and other small papers, up to one kilogram in weight, 
was limited to ten pieces a month for each interned man. 

Statistics compiled in November proved that these restric- 
tions placed upon free postage have produced the effect desired. 
The postal traffix, free of postage, had diminished by twenty-six 
per cent, for mail matter sent and seventy-eight per cent, for 
mail matter received. 

The postal authorities now prepare for the reception of 
about 400,000 pieces of mail sent free of postage and upon 
113,000 sent with postage supplied, and upon an outgoing 
mail, on an average of 130,000 pieces of mail sent free of post- 
age, and 113,400 with postage affixed. These statements 



54 SWISS rXTERNMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 

prove that the mail matter sent free of postage by the 
post offices of internment is less than the number authorized 
by the rule. On an average, the number of pieces sent per 
month is 50,000 less than that which might be attained while 
still remaining within the limits provided for by the regula- 
tions. One may conclude from this, that for a majority of the 
interned men, the privilege of sending out ten pieces of mail 
per month exceeds the needs of their correspondence. 

At the beginning of the internment, mail matter from 
prisoners' camps in foreign lands was received for men in- 
terned in Switzerland without bearing any indication of the 
section. This necessitated drawing up an alphabetical list of 
all the interned men ; this work was intrusted to the collecting 
office number 23 of the post at Berne. 

The entrance cards of the internment service were first 
resorted to, but later, a special yellow card, "Notice of Arrival 
in Switzerland," was instituted, one of which is filled out for 
each new arrival by the superintendent of the institution. It 
is sent without delay to the quartermasters of the internment 
regions, who, after verification with the pay roll, send this card 
on to the post office at Berne. This service has given good re- 
sults and the post office bureau is thus in possession, after 
relatively short delay, of the notice of the arrival. At the end 
of the year, the file contained 30,000 names. 

Since the interned men are often transferred from one 
section to another, for reasons of health, of discipline or of 
work, or are repatriated, these cards ought to be constantly 
examined. In accordance with the pay-rolls, the quarter- 
masters, by means of a special card of notice, bring'all changes 
of address to the knowledge of the post office. 

The number of pieces of mail sent to be readdressed was at 
first very modest. In the month of July, it rose to the un- 
expected proportions of 35,000 packages and 200,000 enclo- 
sures; the result of this was an accumulation of five to six 
thousand packages at Berne. 

In order to remedy this intolerable state of affairs, a formula 
upon a green postcard was given upon the arrival in Switzer- 
land of every interned, which the latter was to fill out and send 
to the prison camp from which he came. This innovation has 
had happy results. 



p 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



011 023 761 3 • 






